Box Score | RPI Athletics on Twitter

TROY, N.Y. – Breanainn McNeally scored with 5:26 to play in the fourth quarter to break a 7-7 tie and the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) men's lacrosse team held off No. 18 Ithaca College, defeating the Bombers, 8-7, in a non-league contest at East Campus Stadium.

RECORDS

• Rensselaer: 1-1
• Ithaca: 2-1

NOTEWORTHY:

• Ithaca scored the first two goals of the game and four of the first five, to take a 4-1 early in the second quarter … Michael Walker had two of those goals and Jake Cotton had a goal and an assist in the sequence.
• RPI pulled to within a goal, 4-3, on back-to-back, unassisted markers by Billy Gibbs and Pat Hogan … The goals were the first of the season for both.
• The Bombers answered with the next two goals, one by Cotton, and led 6-3 with 2:18 to play in the first half.
• Matt Hall scored his first of two goals on the day with 1:58 left in the second quarter – a man-up tally off a feed from McNeally – to get the Engineers to within 6-4 at the half.
• Ithaca was called for six consecutive penalties between the 11:57 and 11:03 marks of the third quarter, but its man-down was successful throughout … Goalie Scott Sidnam made two big saves in the sequence.
• RPI eventually scored in the third quarter, tallying the only three goals of the frame, and held a 7-6 lead after three … McNeally connected off an assist from Finn at 8:04, Matt Hall scored his second of the game and Lucas Bastarache gave the Engineers their first lead with an unassisted shot from the right side of the cage.
• Rensselaer goaltender Billy Gibbs and his teammates held the Bombers off the scoreboard in the third quarter … Gibbs made two saves in that period.
• Ithaca tied the game when Eli Gobrecht, a long-pole, scored at 11:33 of the fourth.
• McNeally and Finn worked together for the game-winning goal, with McNeally getting his team-leading sixth of the year with the Engineers on a man-up following an illegal procedure call.
• McNeally helped seal the victory when he picked off a pass near midfield with under a minute to play, giving Rensselaer the ball one final time.
• Rensselaer held Ithaca's leading scorer, John Januszkiewicz, who entered the game with nine goals and two assists, without a point.

MULTIPLE POINT PRODUCERS:

• Rensselaer: McNeally – 2 goals, 1 assist; Hall – 2 goals; Finn – 2 assists
• Ithaca: Cotton – 2 goals, 1 assist; Walker – 2 goals; David Drozjock – 2 assists.

SAVES:

• Rensselaer: Gibbs – 7 saves (2-1-2-2)
• Ithaca: Sidnam – 8 saves (0-2-4-2)

KEY STATS:

• Ithaca held the advantage in shots, 30-25, but RPI had more shots on goal, 16-14
• The Engineers had a 23-20 edge in ground balls, including 8-2 in the third quarter
• The Bombers won nine faceoffs with Rensselaer collecting eight ... Ithaca's Steven Landspurg won 8 of 12.

UP NEXT:

• Rensselaer hosts No. 3 Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) on Saturday at 1pm at East Campus Stadium … The game is the Liberty League opener for both teams.
• Ithaca hosts Oswego State on Wednesday at 4pm.