SERIES HISTORY
Rensselaer owns a 13-2-1 mark in the all-time series with New Paltz, which dates back to September 13, 1994. The Engineers won the inaugural meeting, 5-1, in Troy.
VS. NEW PALTZ AT HOME
The Engineers are 4-0-1 against the Hawks in Troy, but the two schools haven't squared off on RPI's home turf since October 27, 2010, a nil-nil draw at East Campus Stadium, in which Alex Penny made five saves for the clean sheet.
LAST TIME VS. THE HAWKS
RPI took home a 2-0 win over New Paltz in the Skidmore College Classic on September 13, 2013. The Engineers received goals from Pat Noonan and Alex Dotseth, while Rob Dewald recorded a one-save shutout.
TOP RETURNERS
While the Engineers will be without 2016 Liberty League Player of the Year, Devan Baughen, they do return the scorers of seven of 19 goals from a year ago, including two-time captain and midfielder
Steven Collins, who had two goals and an assist for five points.
GOALKEEPERS
Sophomore captain
Matt LaBranche, who went 5-2-2 with a 0.61 goals against average and an .838 save percentage, is back in 2017. He posted seven shutouts in aiding RPI's late season surge last year. Senior
Ryan Nealon is a veteran of 32 matches for the Engineers and carries a 14-8-5 career record into this season. He possesses a 0.83 goals against average and a .778 save percentage.
CAPTAINS ANNOUNCED
Steven Collins,
Dan Graybill and
Matt LaBranche will be co-captains of the men's soccer team for the 2017 season, it was announced by 16th-year head coach
Adam Clinton. Collins is entering his second year wearing the armband, while the other two are first time selections.
BACK-TO-BACK
Due to schedule alterations in the Liberty League, this weekend's back-to-back matches with New Paltz and Sage will be one of just three such occurances for the Engineers during the 2017 season.
