TROY, N.Y. - Williams had a few chances to tie the game late, but the RPI Engineers held on for an 11-10 victory over the Ephs on Wednesday afternoon in Troy. Gavin Timoney and Will Doran each had three goals for the visitors, who fell to 3-3 on the season, while the #20 ranked Engineers move to 7-2.
The game was a back-and-forth battle, with neither team holding more than a two-goal lead at any point. While RPI jumped out to a 1-0 lead within two minutes, the Ephs struck back through two goals from Davis Miller, one from Doran, and one from Ian Kim to take a 4-2 lead with 3:48 left in the first quarter. RPI took one back and the first session ended with the Ephs up 4-3.
The second quarter saw more of the same, with RPI scoring on either side of a Ryan Nagle goal, and the two teams went into the half knotted up at five apiece. In the third, Timoney got two of his goals and Doran had his second, but the Engineers had four and went into the final quarter up 9-8.
In the fourth, Doran scored his third to knot the game up at nine, but RPI scored with 9:07 left to take the lead and 4:06 left to make it a two-goal advantage. Timoney scored with 3:35 remaining to bring the game back within one goal, and Ian Kim won the ensuing faceoff to give the Ephs possession. Ryan Johnson had his shot saved by RPI goalie Hunter Sullivan at the 2:51 mark, and Sullivan came up big again on Jack Sartorius at 1:46 and Doran with 0:35 left, keeping the Ephs off the board late and preserving the victory for the hosts.
The game was a rematch of last year's NCAA tournament opener for both teams, which RPI won 14-10 at Wesleyan University, and this year the Ephs will hope to have another battle with RPI in the postseason. Sullivan was huge in net for RPI, making 10 saves, and Williams goalie Charlie Medd also came up big throughout, making 11 saves in the game.
The Ephs will be back in action on Saturday against Conn College, with the game at Farley-Lamb Field starting at 1:00 p.m. The Ephs will then hit the road for a spring break battle at Salisbury University in Maryland on Tuesday, March 24.
