TROY, N.Y. – Freshman Josh Gaudiano scored his team-leading 10th goal of the season to lift the 19/20th-ranked Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) men's soccer team to 1-0 victory over Union College, on Saturday night at East Campus Stadium. With their school-record tying ninth straight win, the Engineers improve to 10-1 overall (3-0 Liberty League), while the Dutchmen drop to 8-2 (1-2 Liberty League).

RPI's ninth straight win ties the 1996 squad, which won nine in a row after losing its first game of the season. The 2015 Engineers opened the season with a 10-game unbeaten streak (8-0-2), which remains the longest in program history.

Gaudiano (Manhattan Beach, CA/Mira Costa) broke through for the home side in the 64th minute, receiving a ball up the left side from classmate Arik Duncan (Decatur, GA/Woodward Academy) and racing into the penalty area, before rifling a low shot, inside the near post, for his school rookie record-tying 10th goal of the year. Gaudiano matches Andrey Oks '00, who potted 10 during his rookie campaign of 1996 and is now two goals away from the overall single season mark of 12, which is held by Gary Sroka '08.

Union's best chance to equalize came in the 82nd minute, when senior Griffin Cowles (Londonderry, NH/Londonderry) corralled a loose ball at the top of the 18 and ripped a hard shot that was headed for the left corner of the net. RPI sophomore goalkeeper Luke Brezak (Camano Island, WA/The Overlake School) was in good position to smother the attempt and hold it.

Just a minute later, the Engineers nearly doubled their lead, as junior center back Trevor Bisson (Baton Rouge, LA/Episcopal) leaped to head a corner kick from classmate Michael Harten (Merrick, NY/Sanford H. Calhoun), but Union junior keeper Trevor Krupp (Farmington, CT/Kingswood Oxford) was equal to the task, tipping the attempt over the bar.

In the 86th minute, senior Austin Betterly (Plymouth Meeting, PA/Plymouth Whitemarsh) found sophomore Paul Silva (Wayne, NJ/Seton Hall Prep.) running free in the Union penalty area, but he was unable to get a shot away before the defense caught up with him.

Gaudiano nearly scored off a free kick in the early stages of the match. Not five minutes in, his curling right-footed strike, from 25 yards out, found the top left corner of the goal frame and caromed out.

The Dutchmen then had a free kick of their own in the 15th minute, but Brezak was able to get to an attempt from senior Salvador Lopez Jr. (Port Chester, NY/Brunswick School) that was labeled for the top right corner.

Betterly had a late first half chance stopped by Krupp after beating his defender into the penalty area. Receiving a ball on the right flank from Harten, Betterly slipped past one player before ripping a shot that was parried away for a corner in the 34th minute.

Brezak (7-0) finsished with four saves to earn his third clean sheet of 2019. Krupp (5-2) had six stops at the other end of the field. RPI outshot the Dutchmen 13-7, including 7-4 on goal. The Engineers earned 10 corners to Union's four.

Rensselaer is back in action on Wednesday, when it hosts Keene State at East Campus Stadium (7:30pm). Union visits St. Lawrence University on Wednesday (4pm).