TROY, NY - The Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) men's lacrosse paired a hot start with a strong finish to secure a 14-8 triumph at Liberty League rival Union today.

The #5 Engineers led 4-1 early before closing the contest with seven of the final nine goals of the afternoon.

Cooper Roman and Easton Morse scored three times each, while Evan Whatley and Erik Ojert logged two-goal performances. Ian Weihe, Sean Smith, Zach Swanson, and Tyler Ruffini netted one goal each as well.

Roman scored two of of his three tallies in a first half that ended with the Engineers leading 8-6. Smith, Morse, and Whatley also aided the early scoring efforts, as did Ojert and Swanson with man-up goals.

Union cut the margin to 7-6 late in the second, however Ruffini's goal with 3:21 left in the half jump started the game-sealing rally for the Engineers.

Morse had two goals and Ojert, Weihe, Roman, and Whatley deposited one score each as part of RPI's final sprint.

Ruffini finished with five assists, marking a career-best. Hayden Wedemeyer, Ryan Sweet, Roman, and Whatley all had one helper as well.

Joseph Perry turned away 19 shots, which is the most saves in a game this spring for the RPI goaltender. Perry stopped 11 of the final 13 Garnet Charger attempts.

RPI will next welcome Amherst to ECAV Stadium for a battle of two top-10 ranked teams on Wednesday at 5:00 pm.