Union men’s lacrosse comes up short in NCAA Tournament

SCHENECTADY, NY ( NEWS10 ) — A last-minute rally came up inches away and seconds short for the #12/9 Union College men’s lacrosse team on Saturday afternoon in the second round of the NCAA Division III Tournament, falling to Stevenson University by a 12-11 score at Frank Bailey Field at Bertagna-Class of 1985 Stadium.

With the win, Stevenson (14-6) advances to tomorrow’s third round, where the Mustangs will face off with #8/6 Tufts University, who were 27-9 winners over Illinois Wesleyan University in Saturday’s opening game.

Senior Peter Kip led Union (12-6) with a game-high four points on two goals and two assists, while classmates Zach Davis , Henry Quaintance and Michael Shaw all scored twice with an assist for three points apiece. Senior Jake Mabardy and sophomore Hazen Pike chipped in a goal and an assist each as well for the home team.

Senior Matthew Paolatto had another fantastic day at the faceoff spot for Union, winning 21-of-26 draws, grabbing 14 ground balls and scoring a goal. But it was a disallowed goal of his that changed the momentum of the game early in the fourth frame. With Union holding a 9-8 lead, the senior won the faceoff and grabbed the ground ball himself before coming down the alley and picking the top corner 11 seconds into the period; however, Stevenson called for a stick check and Paolatto’s cross was deemed illegal, taking the goal off the board and putting the Mustangs up a player for three minutes.

Although senior Dan Donahue made a pair of big saves to keep the visitors off the scoreboard during the three minutes, the momentum clearly swung Stevenson’s way. Union had double the number of turnovers (eight) than shots (four) over the next 14 minutes, as the Mustangs scored the next four goals to take a 12-9 lead. The last two Mustang tallies came directly off Union giveaways with 4:25 and 0:44 on the clock, respectively.

Union did not give up, getting two quick faceoff wins by Paolatto and tallies by Shaw and Pike to amazingly get back within a goal with just 13 seconds remaining. Paolatto again won the faceoff to give the Garnet Chargers one final chance, but a rushed shot by Kip from a sharp angle with the clock winding down struck off the outside of the post to allow Stevenson to escape with the victory.

The home team used a 4-1 run in the first half to open up a 6-4 lead with 8:41 to go in the second stanza, but Stevenson got one back later in the frame to get within one at the half. The Mustangs went 3-for-4 on the man-advantage in the opening half to stay in the game, while Union had two man-up tallies and a man-down score as well in the first 30 minutes of action.

Stevenson finished the game with a 52-45 edge in shots, with Donahue (15) and junior Ward Tucker (1) combining for 16 saves and Justin Scorese turning aside 11 shots for Stevenson.

The loss marks the final collegiate game for many members of the Class of 2024, which became the first class in program history to reach three straight NCAA Tournaments and holds the program record for highest four-year winning percentage with a 47-19 (.712) mark since the start of the 2021 season.

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