PRINCE ATHLETIC COMPLEX – The University of Rochester lacrosse team battled hard, mounting a second half charge, but couldn't get over hump as visiting Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute earned a 15-11 Liberty League victory on Saturday afternoon at Fauver Stadium.
 
Rochester (5-8, 2-7 Liberty League) had no answer for RPI's Megan Shay as the junior piled up an Engineer single-game record nine goals. RPI's victory moves the Engineers to 10-4 overall and 6-3 in the Liberty League this year.
 
UR ended up being led on offense by junior Brooke Fiannaca who had four goals. Emma Little had three, including two when Rochester was a player down, with Sophia Stafford, Grace Crochiere, Mia Perkell and Zoe Sullivan adding single tallies.
 
Lucy Haggerty handed out four assists in the loss, while Stafford chipped in three, finishing with a team-high four points.
 
Beyond Shay, RPI's Sabrina Torcellini scored twice and Rylie Maready added two goals and two assists for four points. Ella Graff handed out three assists as well for the Engineers.
 
In the goals, RPI's Olivia Kimball made five saves in the win, while Ava Saffren recorded a season-high tying 12 saves for Rochester.
 
The lead was close throughout the first half. Shay scored three times in the first quarter and RPI led 4-2 after the opening 15 minutes.
 

Fiannaca and Little scored back-to-back tallies in the second to tie the game at 4-all with 10:37 to go in the first half.
 
Shay answered with ten minutes left to edge RPI back on top, but Little notched her first player-down goal of the game two and a half minutes later to knot the score back up at 5-5.
 
With five minutes left in the first half, Maready scored to put RPI up one, and Lisa Boehmer benefited from a Yellowjacket card to score a player-up goal with 1:26 left before the break. The Engineers led 7-5 at intermission.
 
In the third, Fiannaca scored a pretty goal off a pass from Sullivan to cut the deficit to one in the 33rd minute, but answered with four straight goals, three from Shay, over a three minute span to boost the lead to 11-6.
 
Rochester began its comeback towards the end of the third and start of the fourth quarters.
 
Stafford recorded her third goal of the season with 5:54 left in the third, and that was followed by Little's second player-down goal of the game, to make the score 11-8 RPI.
 
Shay found the net with 2:02 left in the quarter, but Sullivan quickly responded for Rochester to finish the third quarter down just three, 12-9.
 
In the fourth, Rochester tallied two more goals to pull within one with 11:46 left in the game. Fiannaca recorded her fourth of the game off an assist from Haggerty and Perkell rolled the highlight film with a stunning behind-the-back goal to make the score 12-11.
 
RPI won the ensuing draw though, one of 21 draw wins for the Engineers and used that possession to get another Shay tally to go up 13-11.
 
Torcellini scored twice down the stretch for the Engineers and UR was held off the scoreboard by the Engineer defense for the final 11 minutes to reach the final score of 15-11 RPI.
 
Prior to the game, UR's three seniors, Stafford, Michaela Ricker and Kate Lindsey were each honored along with their families with senior day ceremonies, celebrating their four-year careers with the Rochester program.
 
The Yellowjackets conclude their season next Saturday at Union.