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BRISTOL, R.I. – Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute won the 2014 Squad Locker Classic with a 1-0 win over the Roger Williams University Men's Soccer team Sunday afternoon. With the win, the Engineers improve to 2-0 on the season, while the Hawks drop to 1-1.

RPI threatened early in the Championship Game. Paul Lentine (Penfield, NY) served up a corner kick to Esmir Hadzic (Burlington, VT), who knocked a header towards the lower right corner of the goal. Hawk keeper Tom Mangels (Garden City, NY) made a diving save, followed by another save off of a Vito Mesiti (Slingerlands, NY).

In the 18th minute, the Hawks' Dan Kelly (Miller Place, NY) slipped a pass from the right to James Sheldon (Amherst, NH), who had a great opportunity to give the Hawks the lead. However, his shot caromed off the right post and bounced to Andrew Carlson (Ridgefield, CT) whose follow-up attempt hooked wide.

Throughout the half, both teams played aggressively on the defensive end of the ball, denying opportunities to get good looks at shots. Both squads combined for only seven shots total in the period, with only three on net.

The second half continued with more of the same play as the previous period, as Roger Williams and RPI contested passes and free kicks, leaving limited opportunities for an offensive attack.
RPI just missed a golden opportunity to notch the first goal of the game in the 77th minute. Lentine bent a beautiful pass down the left side around a Hawk defender to Nathaniel Gunderson (Olympia, WA). Gunderson had the right side of the net wide open but just pushed the shot too far wide.

Then in the 86th minute, the Engineers were able to catch a break. On a free kick from about 30 feet outside the left side of the box, Matt Koziol (Poughkeepsie, NY) hooked a shot on net that Mangels was able to get two hands on. Unfortunately for him, the ball bounced off his fingers and trickled into the left corner of the net for the eventual game-winner.

Rob Dewald (Arlington, VA) finishes the weekend 2-0-0, needing only one save in the win. Mangels took the loss, saving four shots.
 
All-Tournament Team
Thomas College – #6 Dakota Duplissie
Thomas College – #10 Tre Ming
University of Massachusetts-Boston - #3 Elton Teixeira
University of Massachusetts-Boston - #20 Arlino Goncalves
Roger Williams University – #9 Tyler Peckham
Roger Williams University – #14 James Sheldon
Roger Williams University – #25 Cooper Allebrand
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute – #5 Andrew Gondek
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute – #7 Matt Koziol
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute – #13 Vito Mesiti
 
Offensive MVP: Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute – #10 Matt Carberry
Defensive MVP: Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute – #5 Andrew Gondek