TROY, N.Y. -
Trey Froehlich,
Connor Glosner, and
Tyler Nalls all scored three goals and had one assist and the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) men's lacrosse team outscored the U.S. Coast Guard Academy 10-3 in the second half on its way to defeating the Bears 18-8 in the season opener for both squads at a snowy and windy East Campus Stadium.
Froehlich scored once in the first quarter - with only one second remaining on the clock for a 5-2 lead - and twice in the fourth with one coming man-up. Glosner also had a pair of fourth quarter tallies, along with one in the first that made it a 3-0 score midway through the frame. Nalls notched a second quarter goal for a 7-2 lead before tallying twice in the third with one coming on man-up. He also had two ground balls and a caused turnover. Glosner added seven ground balls.
Angelo Venuto had a game-high nine pickups, along with two goals and an assist, while
Cooper Urban added two goals and a helper.
Junior Taylor Gustafson led the way for the Bears with three goals and one assist and senior Nate Gee added two goals.
RPI scored the opening three goals of the game before Gustafson put the Bears on the board at 3:01. Ian Feely made it 3-2 a minute later, but Venuto scored of the ensuing face-off for a 4-2 lead. Froehlich's late goal put the Engineers ahead 5-2 lead after one.
Urban and Nalls put the home team ahead by five goals before Logan Tobias cut the deficit to 7-3. RPI held an 8-5 lead at the break.
Venuto opened the second half with a goal off the draw and the Engineers outscored the Bears 4-2 in the frame. It was a 6-1 margin in the fourth quarter for the final margin.
Ricky Bokavich made nine saves in the first half for the win and
Joseph Perry had three saves in the final 30 minutes for RPI, which won 20 of 30 face-offs and had a 43-37 advantage in ground balls. Coast Guard junior goalkeeper Dan Lucas made 11 saves for the Bears, while
Rensselaer is on the road on Wednesday when it plays at Clark University at 7pm. The Bears are back in action next Saturday at home against Western New England University.
