UNION, N.J. – The Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) men's lacrosse team opened the 2026 season with a 23-9 victory over Kean this afternoon.

RPI, who begins the season ranked 7th in the USILA preseason rankings, placed eight different players on the scoresheet and produced a balanced offensive day, led by hat tricks from Nolan Lawler, Cooper Manzi, and Jackson Massaroni. Tyler Ruffini also powered the attack with a game-high six points on one goal and five assists, while Sean Smith finished with three points (two goals, one assist).

The Engineers took control early and never relinquished the advantage, scoring the first four goals of the afternoon to build a 4-0 lead after one quarter. Smith opened the scoring with an unassisted tally at 8:55, before setting up Manzi less than a minute later to make it 2-0. Manzi added another unassisted goal at 4:42 and Massaroni capped the first-quarter surge with a man-up finish off a Ruffini feed with three minutes left in the frame.

RPI's second-quarter outburst widened the gap significantly. Michael Kline and Massaroni struck in the opening 75 seconds of the period, with Massaroni again converting on the extra-man opportunity via Ruffini to push the lead to 6-0.

After Kean got on the board with back-to-back goals from Aarin Arbore, the Engineers answered with five more before halftime, goals by Lawler (assisted by Easton Morse), Ruffini, Teag Hilkewich (man-up), Massaroni (man-up), and Bryce Allen, to take an 11-2 lead into the break.

The Engineers continued to pour it on in the third, winning the quarter 7-1. Lawler scored twice in the frame, Smith added a man-up finish, and Kline, Manzi, Ian Weihe, and Allen all found the back of the net as RPI took an 18-3 lead into the final 15 minutes.

Kean made its strongest push in the fourth, scoring six times in the period, but RPI's offense kept pace with five more goals to close out the season-opening win. Morse got the fourth-quarter scoring started for the Engineers, followed quickly by Hilkewich, before Mickey Sullivan recorded two late goals and Gabriel Seldow added the final RPI tally at 1:23.

RPI received two-goal efforts from Kline, Bryce Allen, Hilkewich, and Mickey Sullivan. The Engineers were also perfect on man-up opportunities, going 5-for-5, while posting advantages in shots (56-39), ground balls (45-36), and clears (23-for-24).

The Engineers next head to Nashville for a pair of games in the Music City Classic beginning February 14.