SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – The Skidmore College men's lacrosse team fell just short Saturday, dropping a 15-11 decision to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) in a Liberty League contest at Wachenheim Field.
 
The Thoroughbreds drop to 3-6 and 0-3 in Liberty League play. The Engineers have won seven straight to move to 7-1 and 3-0 in conference.
 
RJ Caruso paced the Thoroughbreds offensively with three goals and two assists. Jack Curry added four points on two goals and two assists and Eric Megnia had three goals. Alex Miller had an assist with five ground balls and Jack McElgunn also had five pickups and three caused turnovers.
 
Dylan Fleishmann had 10 saves in net for the Thoroughbreds falling to 1-1.
 
JT Kelly notched a game-high six points on two goals and four assists with four shots, all on goal. Zach Lukas and Cliff Kigar tallied three goals with two helpers apiece. Keaton Ackermann, Lucas Bastarache and Robby Gale each contributed a goal and an assist. Oliver Kaija was successful on 19 of 29 faceoffs, picking up a game-best seven ground balls.
 
Parker Smith made 15 saves, including six in the first quarter. He is now 6-1.
 
Skidmore jumped out to a 2-0 lead three minutes into the contest, but the Engineers answered with five consecutive goals by five different players with four picking up assists. The Thoroughbreds pulled to within 5-4 on a man-up goal by Curry at 6:52 of the second before the teams traded goals within 14 seconds of one another. Rensselaer closed the half with four straight for a 10-5 lead at the break.
 
Ward Mahoney pulled Skidmore to within 10-6 three minutes into the third, but RPI rattled off three in a row for a 13-6 edge with 5:17 left in the frame. The Thoroughbreds put together a string of their own, however, scoring four straight (two from Caruso) to make it a three-goal game (13-10). Lukas, whose brother plays for Skidmore, got the next two for a 15-10 lead with 4:25 to play and the Engineers prevailed by four goals.
 
The Thoroughbreds play at league foe Union College on Wednesday at 4pm.