Boxscore

TROY, N.Y. - Freshman Brian D'Iorio scored his first two collegiate goals, but #10 Rensselaer was too much for the Manhattanville men's lacrosse team, as the Engineers defeated the Valiants, 19-4, in the season opener at the East Campus Stadium on Wednesday afternoon in non-conference play.  

The Engineers took a 5-0 lead after the first quarter and held a 10-0 edge in shots on goal. The Valiants got on the board late in the second quarter as D'Iorio scored a man-up goal with an assist by sophomore Joe Daly (Mahopac, N.Y./Mahopac) with 3:10 remaining. The Valiants added a second tally on the next possession as Daly scored an unassisted goal with 2:36 left. RPI held a 13-2 lead after the first half and a 25-4 advantage in shots.

In the second half, the nationally ranked home team continued to pressure the Valiants and added four more goals in the third and two more in the fourth quarter respectively. The Valiants scored single tallies in each of the final two quarters, as the young team put up a fight to the finish. 

Sophomore Jeb Miller (Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y./Cold Spring Harbor) scored his first collegiate goal in the third quarter, after senior defender James Frommert (Webster, N.Y./Webster Thomas) caused a turnover in the defensive zone. Miller's tally came with 6:12 left in the third, but the Valiants still trailed 17-3.

Tthe Valiants got their fourth goal of the game in the final quarter, as D'Iorio scored his second from senior Mike Strauss (Newark, Del./Wilmington Charter) after a shot by Miller went wide but Strauss set-up the goal from behind the net with 7:21 remaining.

Leading RPI with points in the game was Conor Chocheles with seven points as he scored twice and had five assists. Scott O'Leary led the engineers with three goals. Six other Engineers finished with two goals in the game and all but two players recorded a point in the win.

Manhattanville sophomore Dom Poletto (Engelwood, Colo./Regis Jesuit) made 20 saves in his first start and complete game in his career. RPI used four goalies in the contest making a combined four saves, as starter James Manchester went 47 minutes before he was relieved.

Manhattanville (0-1, 0-0 MAC) will head back home to take on Merchant Marine next Thursday at 4 p.m. Fans that can't make it to Purchase can catch the game live on GoValiants.TV with live stats on GoValiants.com