Saratoga Springs, N.Y.-- Rensselaer overcame a fast Skidmore start and then shutdown the Thoroughbred offense in the second half for a 11-8 Liberty League men's lacrosse win.
 
Skidmore is 5-5 overall and 1-2 in Liberty play, while the Engineers snap a two-game losing streak to improve to 8-2 and 2-1.
 
The Thoroughbreds got out of the gate quick with four straight goals to open a 4-0 lead.  Jon Hoeg strated the scoring at 12:26 and then assisted on J.P. Sullivan's goal at 11:06 for a 2-0 lead.  Mike Perlow scored at 8:11 and again at 11:06 to make it 4-0. 
 
RPI regrouped to score the next five goals over the rest of the first quarter and the start of the second to take its first lead of the game, 5-4.  Four different players scored in the run, with Wes Rudy scoring twice.
 
Sullivan tied it for Skidmore with 6:24 to play in the second, but David Hey put the Engineers back on top at 3:39.  The Thoroughbreds got the lead back before the half, 7-6, on goals by Josh Trachtenberg and Perlow. 
 
RPI controlled the ball and the scoring in the third quarter, patiently outscoring Skidmore 3-0 to lead 9-7 at the end of three. 
 
In the fourth quarter, the Thoroughbreds pulled with in one, 9-8 when Perlow found Richie Davis in front for his 11th of the season with 8:51 to play.  The Engineers then controlled possession for most of the remainder of the game, getting insurance goals from Grant Foulsham at 5:07 and Andrew Liptak at 1:08 for the 11-8 final.
 
Perlow led Skidmore with three goals and an assist. He has 25 goals for the season. Sullivan finished with two goals and an assist.  Ryan Paradis won 17 of 23 face offs and had a game-high nine ground balls.
 
Rudy finished with two goals and an assist for RPI, while Liptak and Connor Sullivan had two goals each. Andrew Miller added three asssists. Scott Stolzenberg had seven ground balls and three caused turnovers.
 
RPI had a narrow  36-34 edge in shots, while each team had 27 ground balls.  The Engineers were three-for-six on man-up opportunities, while the Thoroughbreds converted one of five.
 
Matt Diaco had nine saves in goal for Skidmore. Alex Castronovo had 12 saves for RPI.
 
Skidmore is off until an April 11 home game against Hamilton at 7 p.m.  The Engineers host RIT on April 7 at 12 p.m.
 
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                         Lacrosse Game Summary (Final)
                      2012 Skidmore College Men's Lacrosse
         RPI vs Skidmore College (Apr 04, 2012 at Saratoga Springs, NY)
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             RPI (8-2, 2-1 Liberty) vs. Skidmore College (5-5, 1-2)
Date: Apr 04, 2012  Location: Saratoga Springs, NY  Stadium: Wachenheim Field
Attendance:145   Start time:4 p.m.    End time:5:51 p.m  Total time:1:51
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SCORE BY PERIOD       1  2  3  4  Tot
-------------------------------------
RPI.................  3  3  3  2 - 11
Skidmore College....  4  3  0  1 -  8
 
RPI SCORING: GOALS: Wes Rudy 2; Connor Sullivan 2; Andrew Liptak 2;
David Hey 1; Grant Foulsham 1; Brett Overend 1; Mike Sarson 1; Scott
Stolzenberg 1.
ASSISTS: Andrew Miller 3; Grant Foulsham 1; David Hey 1; Lachlan
Murphy 1; Wes Rudy 1; Connor Sullivan 1.
 
Skidmore College SCORING: GOALS: Mike Perlow 3; JP Sullivan 2; Jon
Hoeg 1; Richie Davis 1; Josh Trachtenberg 1.
ASSISTS: Brock Bakewell 1; Brian Connolly 1; Jon Hoeg 1; Mike Perlow
1; JP Sullivan 1.
 
RPI GROUND BALLS 27: Scott Stolzenberg 7; Tyler Hutchinson 3; Andrew
Miller 3; Eric Bialek 2; Alex Castronovo 2; Paul Dilandro 2; Mike
Sarson 2; Max Blair 1; Grant Foulsham 1; Thomas Newman 1; Chris O'Neil
1; Brett Overend 1; TEAM 1.
 
Skidmore College GROUND BALLS 27: Ryan Paradis 9; Tyler Masters 4; Sam
Christiansen 3; Brock Bakewell 2; Sean Fosse 2; Ryan Whittemore 2;
Richie Davis 1; Matt Diaco 1; Jon Hoeg 1; Brian Milazzo 1; Matt Ohara
1.
 
RPI TURNOVERS CAUSED 7: Scott Stolzenberg 3; Eric Bialek 2; Max Blair
1; Chris O'Neil 1.
Skidmore College TURNOVERS CAUSED 9: Brock Bakewell 2; Sam
Christiansen 2; Clark Demos 1; Brian Milazzo 1; Brian Mitko 1; Ryan
Paradis 1; Nick Yedibalian 1.
 
SHOTS - RPI 36; Skidmore College 34.
SHOTS ON GOAL - RPI 20; Skidmore College 20.
 
Penalties - RPI 5/4:00; Skidmore College 6/5:00.
MAN-UP OPPORTUNITIES - RPI 3-6; Skidmore College 1-5.
 
TURNOVERS - RPI 16; Skidmore College 19.
 
FACEOFFS - RPI 6-23; Skidmore College 17-23.
 
CLEARS - RPI 14-21; Skidmore College 13-16.
 
GOALIES - RPI: Alex Castronovo 1-1 (60:00 minutes, 20 shots-12 saves,
8 GA); SKIDMORE: Drew Butturini (00:45, 1-0, 1) , Matt Diaco 0-1
(59:15, 19-9, 10).
 
Start time: 4 p.m.    Finish time: 5:51 p.m  Length of game: 1:51
Officials:.
 
A-145 T-1:51