Rensselaer achieve breakthrough against Geneseo

Hat-tricks from Tyler Ruffini and Zach Swanson saw the Engineers take down SUNY Geneseo 19-9 Saturday afternoon. The #16-ranked Rensselaer returned to action after a 15 to 6 rout over DeSales University last week, a game in which their opponents were unable to find the back of the net until the 3rd quarter. The battle-tested Engineers faced wereoff against a Geneseo’s team playing their first game of their season, buoyed by a small but vocal crowd that traveled to the Lower Renwyck Fields.

The Knights, however, proved to be less malleable than previous opponents, clearing Rensselaer’s first offensive attempt. The Engineers would manage to strike first thanks to a shot from Cooper Manzi;, however, the Knights would equalize shortly two minutes later. The match remained close, with Geneseo doing well to force Rensselaer turnovers. The Engineer’s Tyler Ruffini would eventually break the deadlock for the Engineers with just under 5 minutes left in the quarter. The score would remain the same for the rest of the quarter, with a late offensive push for Rensselaer unable to extend their lead.

The Engineers, in contrast with the 1st quarter, would strike quickly in the 2nd second quarter, scoring two2 in the opening minute. While Geneseo tried their best to hang on to their 2two- goal deficit, a stalwart Rensselaer— - levying hits to turn over possession and forcing Knights out of bounds - would be Geneseo’s undoing. Rensselaer would outscore their opponents 6- to 2 in the quarter, capped off by a long range effort from Cooper Roman with a second left on the shot clock to put the Engineers up 8-3 at the half. The 2nd second half of the game would be much of the same as Rensselaer out-paced the Geneseo defense, creating, shooting, and more often than not scoring, with relative ease. The 3rd third period would end with the Engineers leading 17 - 5, highlighted by a Roman score which saw him juke through a Geneseo defender to score. After a 4th quarter that once again felt like a formality to play, Rensselaer would emerge victorious.

The Engineers will travel to Cortland on Wednesday before returning to Troy to face off against Muhlenburg on Saturday. Click here for the box score.