TROY, NY – Senior Jack Scott's goal in the 10th minute proved to be the game-winner as Union College shutout sixth-ranked Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), 1-0, in Liberty League men's soccer action on Friday. The Dutchmen improve to 8-2-0 and attain sole possession of first place in the conference standings at 3-0-0. The Engineers suffer their first loss of the season and are now 8-1-1 with a 2-1-0 Liberty League mark.
Scott's goal at 10:55 came off a cross from freshman Sebastiaan Jansen, who streaked down the right side and sent it into the middle.
The Engineers nearly got on the board in the 30th minute, but Union goalie Mike Szczesniak was up to the task. As RPI's Blake Adams (Cedar Grove, NJ/Seton Hall Prep.) sped up the right side, Szczesniak came out to the top right corner of the penalty box and made a diving save to stop the hard kick.
Rensselaer, which held an 11-6 advantage in shots through the final 45 minutes of play, had a number of changes to even things up but the Union defense stayed solid. The Engineers sent a bevy of shots at the Dutchmen net in the closing minutes of the game, including back-to-back corner kicks with less than two minutes remaining, but were unable to capitalize.
Szczesniak, who started his first game of the season against RPI, stopped all six shots he faced. Junior netminder Alex Penny (Northport, NY/Northport) posted five saves in the loss.
Rensselaer held the advantage in both shots (16-13) and corner kicks (7-3). The two teams combined for five yellow cards and 30 fouls.
Union heads to Poughkeepsie on Saturday to take on Vassar, also at 2 p.m.
