ALLENTOWN, Pa. – The #16 ranked Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) men's lacrosse team picked up a 15-11 road victory over Muhlenberg this afternoon at Scotty Wood Stadium.

Sean Smith and Cooper Manzi paced the Engineers with three goals apiece, while Tyler Ruffini and Easton Morse added two goals each. Smith also finished with a team-high five points on three goals and two assists, and Michael Kline and Andrew Childs each recorded three points with one goal and two assists. 

RPI struck first and carried a 3-2 lead after one quarter. Smith opened the scoring in the opening 40 seconds off a Kline feed, Ruffini made it 2-0 on a Manzi assist four minutes later, and after Muhlenberg answered with two straight to even the game, Kline finished a Childs setup with 3 minutes left to put the Engineers back in front.

Muhlenberg swung momentum in the second, scoring five of the first six goals in the period to build a 7-4 lead. Morse briefly pulled RPI even at 4-4 with an unassisted tally at 9:39, but the hosts responded with three straight to create separation. The Engineers answered with a key late-half rally, getting a goal from Nolan Lawler (from Smith), a second from Morse (from Lawler), and the equalizer from Jackson Massaroni (from Kline) in a four minute span to send the teams to halftime tied 7-7.

RPI took control with a 4-1 sprint coming out of the break. Manzi and Smith each scored unassisted 65 seconds apart put the Engineers up by a pair, and after Muhlenberg halved the margin to one, the Engineers extended again with Bryce Allen finishing a Childs feed and Childs converting a Ruffini assist late in the stanza for an 11-8 advantage heading to the fourth.

Smith opened the final quarter with his third goal of the day at 12:21 to push the lead to 12-8, and after Muhlenberg made it a three-goal game, Manzi scored unassisted at 6:30 to restore breathing room. The hosts pulled within 13-10 with five minutes remaining, but RPI closed it out with a Ruffini finish off a Smith assist and Manzi's third unassisted goal in the closing minutes.

Ben Shocket highlighted the hustle plays with a team-high 11 ground balls, and Jake Lunati earned the win in goal with nine saves in 30 minutes of action.

RPI will next head to #19 Middlebury for a battle of two nationally ranked teams at 3:00 pm on Wednesday.