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TROY, N.Y. - Eleven different players recorded points as the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) men's lacrosse team defeated Plattsburgh State, 12-8, in non-league action at East Campus Stadium. With the win, the Engineers improve to 1-1, while the Cardinals drop to 0-1.

The first half was a tale of scoring runs, beginning with a 4-0 first quarter from the Engineers. Sophomore attack Matt Hall (Sudbury, MA/Lincoln-Sudbury) netted a pair of goals during RPI's quick start, while classmate Breanainn McNeally (Severna Park, MD/Archbishop Spaulding) capped the run with a man-up goal at 9:45 of the frame. RPI outshot the Cardinals 14-5 in the first.

Plattsburgh then opened the second quarter with five straight goals to take a brief 5-4 lead. Five different players found the back of the net during the visitors' outburst, including junior Brendan Damm (Montauk, NY/East Hampton), who also assisted on two other goals in the quarter. 

RPI answered with four goals in the final 5:33 of the first half, beginning with junior Patrick Finn (North Easton, MA/Thayer Academy) tying the game at 5-5. Senior attack Aaron Shavel (Lawrenceville, NJ/Princeton Day School) bagged his first of the year to give the hosts the lead for good with 3:57 remaining in the half.

A man-up tally by senior Casey Colligan (Baldwinsville, NY/CW Baker) was followed by McNeally's second goal of the game with just 0.5 seconds to go, giving the Engineers an 8-5 lead at the break. Sophomore goalie David Gibbs (Stony Brook, NY/Ward Melville) earned the assist after finding McNeally with a field-length pass. 

The pace of the game slowed in the third quarter with each team scoring just once. Plattsburgh senior James Read (Miller Place, NY/Miller Place) netted his second of the game, before RPI junior Pat Hogan (Mt. Sinai, NY/Mt. Sinai) pushed the lead back to three (9-6), 2:29 before the end of the quarter.

Damm brought the Cardinals to within 9-7, 3:25 into the fourth quarter, but a 3-0 run by the Engineers put the game away. Sophomore Jake Weidner (Chula Vista, CA/Otay Ranch) scored a man-up goal off a feed from Hall, before freshman Matt Gillman (St. Louis, MO/John Burroughs) and Finn each scored their second of the game.

Sophomore Nick DeCeglia (East Northport, NY/Northport) capped the scoring for Plattsburgh, recording his first of the season with 3:08 to play.

Gibbs (1-1) finished with 14 saves, including nine in the second half. Cardinals junior netminder Matt Massaria (Floral Park, NY/Floral Park) had 12 saves. His busiest frame was the first quarter, in which he stopped five. The Engineers went 3 for 8 on man-up situations, while Plattsburgh was 0 for 5.

Rensselaer is back in action on Saturday, when hosts Keene State in Troy (1pm). The game was originally scheduled to be played in New Hampshire, but was moved to the East Campus Stadium at RPI. The Cardinals visit Middlebury on Tuesday (4:30pm).