Montclair, NJ - Breanainn McNeally scored three goals with three assists, Zach Lukas had three goals of his own and David Gibbs made 11 saves to lead No. 20 Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) to an 8-5 win over Montclair State at Sprague Field on Thursday. RPI improves to 3-2 with the win while the Red Hawks fell to 0-6.
After falling behind 2-0 in the first eight minutes, the Engineers held MSU scoreless until under seven minutes left in the third quarter. In the meantime, RPI tallied five times for a 5-2 advantage.
McNeally, an attack, scored three consecutive, including two on the man-up, for a 3-2 lead with 3:07 left in the second quarter. Lukas then potted the first two goals of the second half for a 5-2 edge. All five of the Engineers' goals were assisted With JT Kelly notching two and McNeally, CJ Kigar and Owen Putman earning one apiece.
Montclair battled back to within a goal when
COREY CARLSON and
BRADY WULSTER scored unassisted at 6:47 and 4:59, respectively, of the third quarter, Lukas answered with his third of the contest - unassisted - with 1:34 to play in the frame.
The Red Hawks again pulled to within a goal, this time on
SHAUN STERNER's first of the game, but Kigar scored a pair of man-up goals off McNeally feeds, one at 6:55 and the other at 2:53, for the three-goal win.
Gibbs earned the win with his 11 saves, including three in the second and four in the third. He also had three ground balls. Senior Pete Adorno forced four turnovers and collected two ground balls.
LUCAS JONES made seven saves for the Red Hawks, while grabbing two ground balls. Wulster finished with two goals and
MATT HAEMMERLE notched a goal and an assist with nine shots and four ground balls. Blase Mantineo won 13 of 17 faceoffs in defeat. He had a game-high six ground balls.
The Red Hawks head to Kings Point, NY on Saturday to face the United States Merchant Marine Academy at Noon.