TROY, N.Y. – The Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) men's lacrosse team saw Luke Murphy go off for seven points with two goals and five assists – but could not hold a late three-goal lead as Middlebury scored a go-ahead goal with just over 30 seconds remaining to take a 10-9 win over the Engineers. RPI now falls to 3-3 on the season, while Middlebury improves to 3-0.
 
The Engineers started strong, scoring the first five goals of the game – capped by a tally from Zach Swanson on a dish from Luke Murphy with 13:31 left in the second quarter.
 
Middlebury didn't score their first goal of the game until the 9:16 mark of the second quarter, as Jake Peluso broke the ice for the Panthers. His goal then marked a run of four straight goals for Middlebury as they chipped away and brought the score back to 5-4 with 1:05 to play in the first half. However, both teams scored in the final 60 seconds as RPI held a slight 6-5 lead heading into halftime.
 
RPI scored three of the next four goals in the game as play made its way through the third quarter into the fourth, as Cooper Manzi scored a man-up goal to open the fourth quarter as the Engineers pushed their lead back to three goals as they held a 9-6 advantage.
 
Over the next 90 seconds, the Panthers scored twice to cut the Engineers lead back to one as Cooper DeMallie scored at the 12:56 mark to make it 9-8 in favor of RPI.
 
Play went on for nearly 10 minutes until another goal, which came in the form of Gray Thomas for Middlebury as the Panthers tied the game 9-9 with 2:13 to play.
 
After Middlebury's goal at 2:13, a penalty was called on the Panthers for an illegal stick, giving RPI a three-minute man-up opportunity and the ball with the game tied. However, the Engineers turned the ball over, giving Middlebury a chance to score.
 
The Panthers did just that, scoring with 36 remaining as Tom Conley scored in the man-down situation to give Middlebury the 10-9 lead. RPI then had a violation on the ensuing faceoff, allowing Middlebury to hold the ball for the win over the remaining 30 seconds of the game.
 
Murphy was the only multi-goal scorer for RPI on the afternoon, while the Engineers sported seven other goal scorers. Joseph Perry held his own in the cage, making 16 saves on the day. Middlebury's Russelll Thorndike led the Panthers with four points, notching a hat trick and an assist.
 
RPI returns to action on Wednesday, March 15 at 4:30 p.m. when they return home to ECAV Stadium to face Hamilton College.