Box Score | RPI Athletics Crowdfunding

SCHENECTADY, N.Y. - Senior Parker Smith stopped 17 shots, including 14 in the second half, to lead the No. 17 Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) men's lacrosse team to an 8-4 victory over Union College in a Liberty League contest at Frank Bailey Field. The Engineers improve to 11-2 overall and 5-1 in the conference, just one game out of first place. The Dutchmen fall to 8-4 and 3-3.

Smith held Union to one goal per period by making two saves in the first quarter, one in the second, six in the third quarter and eight in the fourth. He also had two ground balls. Also standing out for the Engineers was senior Oliver Kaija, who won 10 of 16 faceoffs with four ground balls. Zach Lukas paced the offense with three goals, while JT Kelly scored once with two assists. Cliff Kigar added two goals for RPI, which has two regular season games remaining.

Rensselaer jumped out to leads of 3-0 and 6-1 in the first half with Lukas, Jason Bram and Kelly scoring within the first 10 minutes. Union cut the deficit to two on an Alex Newhouse goal off the faceoff and after a timeout, but Ryan Cole, Lukas and Kigar scored to give the Engineers a five-goal lead. 

Union tallied the final goal of the first half (man-up) and the first of the second half, but Kigar and Lukas answered with fourth quarter markers for an 8-3 edge. Hayden Frey, who had the third goal for the Dutchmen, finished the scoring with 4:03 to play as Smith continuously turned aside shots.

Sam Bebout made 11 saves for Union, which had a 45-39 advantage in shots, including 33-12 in the second half. 

Rensselaer, which has won its last three games, is back on the road on Saturday when it plays at Clarkson University. The Dutchmen host Vassar College on Saturday. Both games are league contests that begin at 1pm.