TROY, N.Y. – Down 9-2 late in the first half, the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) men's lacrosse team turned things around and used a second-half comeback to defeat the Clarkson Golden Knights by a final score of 14-11 at ECAV Stadium Saturday afternoon. With the win, RPI improves to 6-6 overall on the season and 3-1 in league play, while Clarkson falls to 9-2 and 1-2 in Liberty League action.
 
Angelo Venuto got the Engineers going right out of the gate, winning the opening faceoff and ground ball and rushing right down and scoring just seven seconds into the game to give the Engineers a 1-0 lead.
 
Clarkson then pushed ahead throughout the first quarter, going on a 7-0 run that lasted until the 8:48 mark of the second quarter. The Golden Knights continued to lead despite a goal from RPI's Cooper Manzi, and opened a 9-2 lead with 4:32 to play in the second quarter.
 
From there, RPI scored three goals over the final 4:32 of the half to pull back within striking distance, making it 9-5 going into the half.
 
RPI continued their roll in the second half, expanding the run to eight straight goals as a 5-0 run for the Engineers opened the third quarter as contact to the head penalty on Clarkson allowed RPI to score three goals in the two minute span. Sean Smith capped the man-up run to tie the game at 9-9 before Zach Swanson gave the Engineers the 10-9 lead at the 10:44 mark of the frame.
 
The Engineers added two more goals before the end of the third quarter, as the period was capped by a goal from Swanson to make it 12-9 RPI as RPI held the Golden Knights off the board in the quarter.
 
In the fourth quarter, Clarkson struck first with a goal from Tyler Hall to cut the RPI run at 10-0 and end the Golden Knights scoring drought. The score stood 12-10 until 4:53 remaining, as Luke Murphy tallied a goal on a dish from Swanson to give the Engineers a three-goal lead.
 
Both sides traded strikes down the stretch, as the lead turned to 14-11 in favor of RPI. The Engineers held down the fort through the final whistle to complete the comeback win.
 
Anthony Mazzella led the RPI offense with four goals on the day, while Swanson also finished with four points on two goals and two assists. Three other Engineers finished with three points apiece, and Joseph Perry made 10 saves in net. Venuto also had a big day in the faceoff X, going 22-for-26 with 15 ground balls.
 
For Clarkson, Sebastian Geiger collected five points on the day with three goals and two assists to lead the Golden Knights. Christian Canino added three points on a goal and two assists, while Patrick Sanna added seven ground balls.
 
The Engineers return to action next Saturday, April 15 at 3 p.m. when they head over to Schenectady to take on Union in Liberty League action.