Box Score | RPI Athletics on Instagram

TROY, N.Y. - Junior Zach Lukas had seven points on three goals and four assists in the first half as the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) men's lacrosse team built a 10-goal margin at the break on its way to defeating Skidmore College, 17-6, in a Liberty League contest at East Campus Stadium. RPI has now won 8 of 9 games and moves to 9-3 overall and 3-2 in the conference. The Thoroughbreds fall to 6-6 and 2-3.

Lukas (Longmeadow, MA / Longmeadow), an attack, had a hand in seven of RPI's 12 first half goals, beginning with a goal at 10:46 of the first quarter that put the Engineers ahead, 2-1. He then set up Matthew Gilman (St. Louis, MO / John Burroughs) for a 3-1 lead just 11 seconds later before freshman Owen Putman (Ballston Lake, NY / Shenendehowa) scored man-up at 6:25 for a 4-1 lead. Senior Breanainn McNeally (Severna Park, MD / Archbishop Spalding) later took a feed from Lukas and scored cross-handed for a 5-1 edge with 4:47 left in the first. 

Skidmore got the final goal of the frame when senior midfielder Jack Metzler (Garden City, NY / Garden City) curled in front of the crease and scored with 45 seconds remaining.

RPI went on to outscore Skidmore 7-0 in the second quarter with Lukas and Putman tallying twice each. Lukas, who scored man-up with eight seconds left in the half, added a pair of assists for his seven first half points. McNeally added three goals and an assist and Putman had three goals in the first 30 minutes. Junior Oliver Kaija (Woodstock, VT / Woodstock Union) won 14 of 16 faceoffs and had five ground balls for the Engineers, who had 20 more shots (32-12) and 22 more ground balls (33-11) than the Thoroughbreds.

Rensselaer opened the second half with the first three goals - two from Putman - but Skidmore battled back with four of its own. Junior midfielder Jack Curry (Holliston, MA / Holliston) scored at 7:13 and then set up Brendan Halloran (Pleasantville, NY / Pleasantville) 2:10 later. The Thoroughbreds pulled to within 15-6 with just under four minutes left in the third, but McNeally's fourth of the game and 39th of the season ended Skidmore's run. Tom Feenstra (Cape Elizabeth, ME / Cape Elizabeth) closed out the game's scoring off an assist from Kyle Riccardi (Brewster, NY / Brewster) 4:58 into the fourth quarter.

Lukas finished with seven points, along with six shots (4 on goal) and two ground balls; Putman scored five times with 10 shots (6) and six ground balls; and McNeally had four goals, two assists and seven shots (4). Kaija was 19 of 23 on faceoffs with a game-high seven ground balls, while Feenstra picked up six loose balls. 

RPI, which used four goalies, outshot the Thoroughbreds, 53-31, and held a 51-26 edge in ground balls. The Engineers won 22 of 27 faceoffs.

Cody Legeza (Ponte Verde, FL / Ponte Verde), a junior midfielder, had two goals on six shots (3) and Curry finished with a goal and an assist. Junior Chris Baughan (Foxboro, MA / Portsmouth Abbey School) had 13 saves in the cage.

Rensselaer is back on the field on Tuesday when it travels to Williams College for a non-league game (6pm). Skidmore plays at Wesleyan University on Tuesday at 5pm.