Box Score
TROY, N.Y. – Backed by multiple point efforts from four student-athletes, the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) men’s soccer team scored four goals in the first half and two in the second on its way to a 6-1win over SUNY Purchase in the second game of the Fourth Annual Red Hawk Classic, hosted by Rensselaer at Harkness Field. The match was the first of the season for both teams.
Four different players scored to propel Rensselaer to a 4-1 lead at halftime, led by senior Gary Sroka (Liverpool, NY/Liverpool), who had a goal and two assists.
Sophomore Mike Long (Hopkinton, NH/Hopkinton) got things started by one-timing a cross from senior Aaron Gundle (Portland, OR/Lincoln) into the back of the net. Gundle made it 2-0 less than two minutes later when he headed the ball in off the rebound of a Sroka shot. Purchase narrowed the gap at 25:25 when sophomore Daniel Grabowski-Clark (Farmington, CT/Farmington) drove home a header of his own.
The Red Hawks regained the two-goal lead 1:37 later when Sroka caught a pass from Long and sent it past Panthers goalie Noah Colantuono (Pawling, NY/Pawling). Freshman Julian Connor (Montclair, NJ/Montclair) capped the first half scoring at 43:48.
Sophomore Jabel Prom (Sandy Spring, MD/Sherwood) cushioned Rensselaer’s lead with a pair of goals in the 60th minute for a 6-1 advantage. Long earned the assist on the first after sending the ball up to Prom, who ducked around a defender and angled the ball past the keeper. In a similar look to his first tally, Prom brought the ball up the right side, maneuvered around a defenseman and tucked a shot into the far left corner.
In addition to Sroka's goal and two assists, Long also had three points (1 goal, 2 assists), Prom had two markers and Gundle earned a goal and an assist.
RPI’s Jeffrey Krywanczyk (Chazy, NY/Chazy Central Rural) earned the win for the Red Hawks, playing the first half. Alex Penny (Northport, NY/Northport), a freshman, played the second half. Neither recorded a save. Colantuono finished with seven saves for Purchase, including several from close range.
Rensselaer returns to action on Saturday at 1pm against Colby-Sawyer, while the Panthers face Union at 3:30pm. The Dutchmen defeated Colby-Sawyer, 2-1 in overtime, in the first game of the classic.
