A strong fourth-quarter effort was not enough to make up for a sluggish outing through the first 45 minutes as the Clarkson University Men's Lacrosse team fell to 16th-ranked Rensselaer 18-12 at Hantz Turf Field on Saturday in its final game of the season.

The Golden Knights closed out the season with a 4-11 overall record, including a 2-5 mark in the Liberty League.

Junior Scott Dosser and sophomore Sam Groves led Clarkson offensively with three goals and one assist apiece. Junior Ryan DaRin also tallied three goals. Junior Ryan St. Croix scored twice and senior J.R. Campbell chipped in a goal and an assist to round out the Green and Gold scoring.

RPI (12-3, 5-2) started the game scoring the first three goals and held a 5-2 lead through the opening 15 minutes. The Engineers outscored the Knights 5-1 in the second quarter to grab a 10-3 lead at the half. RPI continued its roll in the third quarter, outscoring Clarkson 6-1 in the period to take a commanding 16-4 lead.

The Knights battled back over the final 15 minutes and outscored the visitors 8-2, but it was too little too late.

JT Kelly and Breanainn McNeally led the Engineers with four goals and six points each.

Clarkson outshot RPI 40-42, including a 20-4 margin in the fourth quarter. The Engineers controlled ground balls 35-32.

Senior Austin Case picked up a team-high five ground balls for the Knights, while Oliver Kaija recorded a game-high 11 balls for the Engineers.