AMHERST, Mass.- The Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) men's lacrosse team suffered its first defeat of the spring with a 14-12 result this evening at Amherst. The no. 2 national ranked Engineers fought back to within one score after trailing by as many as six goals, however the host Mammoths were able to net a late insurance score to secure the non-conference win.

Erik Ojert led a group of four Engineers who each posted multi-goal efforts on the night. Ojert found the back of the net three times and distributed two assists to register a team-high five points. Luke Murphy, Sean Smith, and Evan Whatley tallied two scores each as well. 

Murphy, Smith, and Zach Swanson all logged first-half goals for RPI, but that would be all that the Engineers would manage across an opening 30 minutes that ended with Amherst taking a 9-3 lead into the break.

RPI was facing a five-goal deficit at the start of the fourth period when the Engineers ripped off four straight goals to cut the margin to 13-12 with 5:38 remaining. Ojert scored twice, while Whatley and Smith added solo strikes in the rally.

Down one score, the Engineers would out shoot the Mammoths 4-2 over the next five minutes, however the ensuing goal would belong to Amherst with 12 seconds late to wrap things up.

Cooper Roman and Ty Stanek were in the scoring column for the Engineers with one goal apiece, while Anthony Mazzella co-led RPI with two helpers. Whatley and Swanson also recorded one assist apiece.

Amherst goalie Brooks Catlin turned away 16 shots in the net, as RPI generated a 54-40 shot advantage over Amherst. 

The Engineers with return to Liberty League play with an 11:00 am matchup with Skidmore on Saturday in Saratoga Spring, NY.