Box Score

PURCHASE, N.Y. – Backed by goals from Lincoln Field (Warren, NH/Hopkinton) and Ben Russell (Rochester, NY/Penfield), the Rensselaer men’s soccer team defeated Manhattanville, 2-0, in the second game of the first day of action at the Valiant Classic. The Red Hawks improve to 3-1-1 on the season while the host Valiants drop to 1-3-1.

The Red Hawks jumped out to an early 1-0 lead on the goal by Field. Off a re-start kick by senior Aaron Gundle (Portland, OR/Lincoln), Field headed the ball in past Valiants keeper Jason Torres (Harrison, NY) for the goal at 9:38.

Late in the frame, sophomore back Kevin Swift (Clifton Park, NY/Shenendehowa) made a beautiful block against freshman Kenneil Haye (Queens, NY) to help Rensselaer, who outshot Manhattanville, 8-7, in the first half, maintain the one-goal advantage heading into halftime.

Just 28 seconds into the second half, the Red Hawks gained a two-goal advantage on the first tally of the season Russell. On a shot to the far corner, the Manhattanville goalie attempted to play the ball, but it was blocked away by one of his own defenders. The loose ball re-directed to the opposite side of the goal to Russell, who sent a hard shot into the wide-open net for the 2-0 lead.

Rensselaer, which lost to Manhattanville, 2-0 in Troy during the 2006 season, saw its defense continue its stellar play throughout the second half. The Valiants were able to muster just one shot in 45:00 minutes to finish with eight on the night compared to RPI’s 14 shots.

Freshman goaltender Alex Penny (Northport, NY/Northport) stopped all three shots he faced in picking up his second win of the season. Torres posted four saves in the loss for Manhattanville.

The Red Hawks return to action tomorrow afternoon against St. John Fisher in game one of the final day of action at the Valiant Classic. Game time is set for 1:30pm. Manhattanville will play Maritime in game two beginning at 3:30pm.