A brace of goals and assists from senior Tyler Ruffini were not enough to spark Rensselaer’s offense in a 13-7 loss to rivals Union over the weekend. Rensselaer began Liberty League play away against Skidmore in a test between two nationally ranked teams. Unfortunately, the Engineers returned home with a 16-12 loss and intent to notch their first win against Union. Union entered the match with a deceptive 1-9 record; five of their losses came against ranked teams, including dynastic champions Tufts.
Both teams used the first quarter to work their way into the game in East Campus Athletic Village’s cold, swirling wind. Union would get on the scoreboard first with five minutes left to play in the first quarter, and they would double their lead two minutes later. Rensselaer’s would reduce the deficit to one before the quarter ended when Niskayuna-native Jackson Massaroni found an open Ruffini in front of the goal.
Rensselaer and Union would tie the game a combined three times throughout the second quarter, thanks in part to two assists from Ruffini, and the first would end with the score tied 5-5. Cooper Manzi would give the Engineers the lead in the third quarter, recovering from an illegal trip by his Union defender before firing it past the goaltender’s stick into the back of the net from distance. Manzi’s effort would, however, be in vain.
Throughout the game, Union outmatched the Engineers, recovering 49 ground balls and 19 faceoffs to Rensselaer's 23 and 5, respectively. Rensselaer has struggled in ground ball matchups in the past three games, but this advantage could not be more apparent in the third quarter, with Union outmatching Rensselaer 14-4 on ground balls and 6-1 on faceoffs. The result on the scoreboard was disastrous - Union scored six unanswered in the third and ended the quarter with an 11-6 lead. Ruffini would tally a second, consolatory goal of the match in the last quarter, but the game would end with a comfortable victory for the Schenectady-based visitors.
Rensselaer drops to 7-4 on the season and 0-2 in conference play. They will hope to break the two game skid when they host the Vassar College Brewers this Wednesday. The box score may be found here.
