The SUNY Oneonta men's lacrosse team fell 12-4 today to Rensselaer in its home opener.  The Red Dragons trailed 6-4 at halftime, but were held scoreless over the final 30 minutes by the Engineers, as they fall to 2-2 on the season.  The win for Rensselaer pushed its overall record to 3-2.
 
Junior Mike Metzger (Colonie/Colonie) scored the games first goal to give Oneonta a 1-0 lead at the 12:14 mark.  The unassisted goal was his sixth of the season.
 
The Engineers then scored back-to-back goals in less than a minute to go up 2-1.  Patrick Finn notched his seventh of the season off an assist from Breananin McNeally at 6:22.  Then at 5:49, Finn fed Billy Gibbs who scored his first of the season.
 
Thirty-nine seconds later, junior Connor Coyle (Centerport/Harborfields) tied the game with an unassisted goal.  Matthew Gilman scored a man up goal at 1:12 off another assist from Finn.  The Engineers would carry its 3-2 lead into the second quarter.
 
A man up goal by McNeally gave Rensselaer a 4-2 advantage at 10:31 of the second quarter.  It was McNeally's 13^th goal of the season with the assist going to Gilman for his fifth helper of the year.
 
Oneonta came back to tie the game on a pair of unassisted goals by sophomore Charles Montgomery (Pleasantville/Pleasantville) and junior Devon Casey (Garden City/Kellenberg).
 
The Engineers closed out the second quarter with a pair of goals to take a 6-4 lead into the break.  Aaron Shavel scored his second goal of the season and Jake Weidner scored his fourth of the year off an assist from McNeally.
 
The second half of the game belonged to Rensselaer, as they outscored Oneonta, 6-0, for the final margin of victory.  McNeally and Gilman led the Engineers with four points apiece.
 
Ryan Adler (Smithtown/Smithtown West) made 17 saves in goal for Oneonta today while his counterpart, David Gibbs, came up with 14 saves.
 
Oneonta will take off for Florida on Monday, where they will face Nazareth on Wednesday in Bradenton.
 
RENSSELAER SCORING:
Goals: Jake Weidner (2); Matthew Gilman (2); Breanainn McNeally (2); Billy Gibbs (1); Aaron Shavel (1); Chaz Bell (1); Patrick Finn (1); Casey Colligan (1); Matt Hall (1)
Assists: Matthew Gilman (2); Breanainn McNeally (2); Patrick Finn (2); Scott Crow (1); Casey Colligan (1)
 
ONEONTA SCORING:
Goals: Charles Montgomery (Pleasantville/Pleasantville) (1); Connor Coyle (Centerport/Harborfields) (1); Mike Metzger (Colonie/Colonie) (1); Devon Casey (Garden City/Kellenberg) (1)
 
Saves
Oneonta:  Ryan Adler (Smithtown/Smithtown West), 17 (57:14 MP, 12 GA), Zach Reilly (Yorktown Heights/Yorktown), 0 (2:46 MP, 0 GA)
RPI:  David Gibbs, 14 (54:44 MP, 4 GA), Parker Smith, 0 (5:16 MP, 0 GA)
 
Shots: Oneonta 27, RPI 38
Ground Balls:  Oneonta 26, RPI 26
Face-offs: Oneonta 7, RPI 13
Extra man:  Oneonta 0-5, RPI 3-7