Union comes close but stumbles against No. 3 RIT

SCHENECTADY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- #3 Rochester Institute of Technology scored seven straight goals during a decisive early-game run and held on for a 13-10 victory over the #9/11 Union College men's lacrosse team in a Liberty League contest on Saturday afternoon at Frank Bailey Field at Bertagna-Class of 1985 Stadium.

In another close game between these two conference rivals, Union (6-4, 1-2 Liberty League) fell behind by five goals after the Tigers' early game run and was unable to get the RIT (11-1, 3-0 Liberty League) lead under three goals the rest of the way.
 
Junior Zach Davis led all players with three goals and also added an assist for four points. He was joined with a game-high four points by classmates Jake Mabardy (two goals, two assists) and Peter Kip (one goal, three assists). Sophomore Archie McEvoy had two goals and an assist for the home team. Clifford Gaston recorded a team-leading three points with two goals and an assist for the visitors, as the balanced RIT offense saw nine different players find the back of the net.
 
Both goaltenders did all they could to keep their teams in the game as well, as Union junior Dan Donahue and RIT grad student Will Sterrett both made 15 saves.
 
The game started well for Union, as the home team responded to an early RIT tally with three straight goals to take its largest lead of the game at 3-1. McEvoy picked up back-to-back scores 92 seconds apart to put Union ahead, and sophomore Hazen Pike added his third of the year to make it a 3-1 score with 8:33 left in the first quarter. The lead did not last long, however, as the Tigers scored four straight goals to grab a 5-3 lead after 15 minutes.
 
The visitors converted on their first three possessions of the second stanza to build up the largest lead of the game at 8-3 with 3:37 gone by in the period. Union stemmed the tide with two straight goals from Kip and Davis, and the teams traded goals in the final three minutes to head into halftime with RIT on top by a 9-6 score.
 
RIT bumped the lead back to five with the first two goals of the third quarter, although Union got one right back when junior Matthew Paolatto cleanly won the subsequent draw and fed Mabardy for a score. Two saves by Sterrett kept it an 11-7 lead for the Tigers headed to the fourth.
 
Union got back within three goals on two occasions in the final stanza, but the home team could get no closer. A goal from junior Justin Greene made it a 13-10 score with 4:54 on the clock and Union had multiple chances to decrease the deficit on its next the with the ball, but Sterrett made four big saves on Union's subsequent possession to kill any momentum down the stretch.
 
Union finished the game with a 45-44 edge in shots and a 34-31 advantage in ground balls. Paolatto won 13-of-23 draws and grabbed a game-high nine ground balls, as the home team won 15-of-27 faceoffs overall.
 
Union will look to rebound on Wednesday with a Liberty League matchup at Skidmore College beginning at 5 p.m.