TROY, N.Y. (NEWS10) — The Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) men’s lacrosse team closed their regular season on a high-note, taking home a 14-9 victory on Senior Day over the Ithaca Bombers at ECAV Stadium Saturday afternoon.

RPI concludes the regular season with a 9-6 overall record and a 6-1 mark in Liberty League play. The Engineers finish the regular season in second place in Liberty League standings and will host a semifinal game at ECAV Stadium next Friday against the third-seeded Union Dutchmen.
 
RPI showed the first signs of life early in the first quarter, as Zach Swanson and Sean Smith went back-to-back with goals to open the game less than five minutes in. Those two goals were key early on, as both sides were kept in a low-scoring battle into the half.
 
Luke Murphy and Angelo Venuto each scored before halftime, but strikes from Graham Brady, Charlie Niebuhr, and Jake Erickson put the Bombers down by just a goal at the midway point with the Engineers clinging to a 4-3 lead.
 
In the second half, the Engineers exploded on offense, going on a 7-1 run through the third quarter before John Sramac scored for Ithaca before the close of the third frame. By that time, RPI pulled out to an 11-5 lead heading into the final 15 minutes.
 
Despite a late push from the Bombers as they cut the lead to four with just over two minutes remaining, Cooper Manzi iced the game with a goal with 1:58 to play to put the lead back to five for the 14-9 win.
 
Anthony Mazzella led the RPI charge with a six-point afternoon, scoring two goals and dishing four assists. Swanson led all scorers with four goals to his name while adding an assist. Venuto also scored twice with an assist while going 19-for-27 in the faceoff X. Goaltender Joseph Perry collected double-digit saves, snagging 10 in the victory.
 
Erickson, Sramac, and Kyle Savery each had three points apiece for Ithaca. Erickson had a goal and assist, while Sramac and Savery each scored twice with an assist. Ithaca sported three different goalies, with Ryan LaForty making 11 saves in the loss.