Box Score | RPI Athletics on YouTube

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - JT Kelly, Zach Lukas and Cliff Kigar combined for 16 points and Parker Smith made 15 saves to lead the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) men's lacrosse team to a 15-11 victory over Skidmore College in a Liberty League contest at Wachenheim Field.

The win was the seventh straight for the Engineers, who are now 7-1 overall and 3-0 in the conference. They host Oneonta on Tuesday at 4pm. Thoroughbreds, who drop to 3-6 and 0-3, play at league foe Union College on Wednesday at 4pm.

Kelly, a junior, notched a game-high six points on two goals and four assists with four shots, all on goal. Lukas and Kigar, both seniors, tallied three goals with two helpers apiece. Lukas had a team-high seven shots (6 on goal) with a ground ball, while Kigar had five shots, all on goal, with two ground balls and two caused turnovers. Keaton Ackermann, Lucas Bastarache and Robby Gale each contributed a goal and an assist offensively. Oliver Kaija, a senior, was successful on 19 of 29 faceoffs, picking up a game-best seven ground balls.

Smith made six saves in the first quarter, three in the second, four in the third and two in the fourth while playing all 60 minutes. He is now 6-1. Dylan Fleishmann stopped 10 of the 25 shots he faced in falling to 1-1.

RJ Caruso paced the Thoroughbreds offensively with three goals and two assists. Jack Curry added four points on two goals and two assists and Eric Megnia had three goals. Alex Miller had an assist with five ground balls and Jack McElgunn also had five pickups.

Skidmore jumped out to a 2-0 lead three minutes into the contest, but the Engineers answered with five consecutive goals by five different players with four picking up assists. The Thoroughbreds pulled to within 5-4 on a man-up goal by Curry at 6:52 of the second before the teams traded goals within 14 seconds of one another. Rensselaer closed the half with four straight, including Kigar's third of the game, for a 10-5 lead at the break.

Ward Mahoney pulled Skidmore to within 10-6 three minutes into the third, but RPI rattled off three in a row - with Kelly picking up assists on two of them - for a 13-6 edge with 5:17 left in the frame. The Thoroughbreds put together a string of their own, however, scoring four straight (two from Caruso) to make it a three-goal game (13-10). Lukas, whose brother plays for Skidmore, got the next two for a 15-10 lead with 4:25 to play and the Engineers prevailed by four goals.