TROY, N.Y. – The Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) men's soccer team tallied three first half goals and it proved to be all they'd need as the Engineers defeated SUNY Potsdam, 3-0 in non-conference action on Friday at Renwyck Field. The victory moves RPI to 3-1-1 overall, while the Bears slip to 3-2-1 on the season.

The Engineers got things started early as sophomore midfielder Alex Dotseth (Colorado Springs, CO/Air Academy HS) headed a shot past Potsdam keeper Jake Gyder (Liverpool, NY/Liverpool) in the 5th minute. Senior forward Matt Koliopoulos (Franklin, MA/Franklin) earned the assist on the play after he raced up the right side and sent a high cross through the middle toward Dotseth.

RPI grabbed the two-goal advantage in the 17th minute aided by a left-footed cross from Dotseth. Poised on the right side, Dotseth found rookie midfielder Matt Koziol (Poughkeepsie, NY/Franklin D. Roosevelt) in the middle, who fired a shot into the wide open net.

Senior forward Julian Coy (Bristow, VA/Brentsville District) later helped secure a 3-0 lead for the home team in the 34th minute. Junior forward Zach Fane (Troy, NY/Lansingburgh) earned the helper after he carried the ball down the left side and sent a cross toward the middle. Coy raced down the field, beating out a defender, to kick it past a diving Gyder into the left corner.

The visiting Bears had several chances in the opening half, but could not solve the Engineers defense as they hit the RPI goal just three times. Potsdam's best chance came in the 23rd minute as freshman Stephen Auyer (Oswego, NY/Oswego) fired a bullet shot from 20-yards out toward the net, but RPI keeper Craig Bennett (Oakdale, NY/Connetquot) was there for the stop.

Neither team was able to score in the second half, but both had their chances. Rookie Eduardo Figueroa (Rochester, NY/Dr. Freddie Thomas) had a solid opportunity for the visiting Bears in the 74th minute as he raced down the left flank and sent a shot sailing toward the left corner, but Bennett was there for the save.

Koliopoulos came close to making it a 4-0 lead for the Engineers when he beat out several defenders to the ball just left of the goal, but Gyder fought through traffic to quickly scoop it up.

Between the pipes, Bennett stopped four shots to earn the victory, while rookie Rob Dewald (Arlington, VA/Washington-Lee) made two stops in 13:50 of relief. The Engineers also saw junior midfielder Mike Birk (Albertson, NY/Mineola) make a great defensive save in the 53rd minute on a shot by Figueroa. For the Bears, Gyder stopped two shots.

Rensselaer returns to action on Tuesday as it travels to North Adams, Mass., for a 4pm match at MCLA. SUNY Potsdam is right back on the pitch on Sunday with a 1pm contest at St. John Fisher.