SCHENECTADY, NY -- Linebacker Vito Pellerito (Pompano Beach, FL/St. Thomas) recorded 14 tackles, running back Tom Arcidiacono (Castleton, NY/Columbia) had 130 rushing yards and a touchdown and wide receiver Ryan Twichell (Fayetteville, NY/Fayetteville-Manlius) had 126 yards to lead Union College to a 28-20 triumph over the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy Saturday night at Bailey Field.

The Dutchmen improved to 3-1 overall and 2-0 in the Liberty League while the Mariners are 3-2 and 1-1 in the league. Union had 183 passing yards and 198 on the ground while USMMA had 175 through the air and 63 net yards rushing.

Quarterback Anthony Marotti (River Edge, NJ/River Dell) was 12 for 26 for 156 yards with two rushing scores and a passing TD. Defensively, Pat Mulrooney (Waterbury, CT/Holy Cross) and Chuck Pinckney (Slingerlands, NY/Guilderland) recorded seven tackles each. Kicker/punter Ben Rapple (Queensbury, NY/Queensbury) averaged 39.0 yards per punt for the Dutchmen.

The Mariners were led by Frank Dore had 12 tackles, including nine solo, while Justin Eusepi and Pat McTigue had eight tackles each. Kicker/punter Geoff Troy made field goals of 50 and 37 yards and also averaged 39.3 yards per punt. Quarterback Chuck Kleinschnitz was 19 for 41 for 175 yards and a touchdown for the visitors.

Union opened the scoring on a 58-yard touchdown run by Arcidiacono with 4:38 left in the first quarter. The senior rusher, who was third in NCAA Division III scoring entering the game, scored a touchdown for the 16^th time in his last 17 games. It capped a five-play, 77-yard drive in which he accounted for four of the plays for 71 of the yards. Merchant Marine tied it when John Watson ran in from one yard out with 10:49 left in the second stanza. It was a seven-play, 52-yard scoring drive that took 3:06. On the next drive, the Dutchmen marched 74 yards on 11 plays in 4:59, with Marotti scoring on a three-yard run for the 14-7 lead. The Mariners came right back on their next drive. On the eight play of the drive, on a 4^th and 15 from the Union 48, the Dutchmen were called for a defensive 15-yard penalty as time expired. The half could not end, thus Troy nailed a 50-yard field goal to pull USMMA to within 14-10 at halftime.

Zach Tillo (Lancaster, MA/Exeter) ran in from 10 yards out with 8:36 left for a 21-10 Union advantage in the third quarter. Tillo had 23 of the 68 yards on the 12 play drive that consumed 5:30. Twitchell had three catches for 31 yards on that drive. But just four plays later, Troy hit a 37-yard field goal to make it 21-13.

The Dutchmen opened it up for a 28-13 lead with 5:13 left in the fourth. Marotti ran for his second ground score of the day, an eight-yard run to wrap a five-play, 82-yard drive that featured a 62-yard catch from Twitchell to bring it to the eight.

Kleinschnitz passed for 40 yards on an 11-play, 56-yard drive in 1:42, as he hit Garret Washington with a three-yard touchdown pass with 3:02 left in regulation. It was 28-20 Union. The Mariners recovered a Troy onside kick on their own 37, but four plays later, a Kleinshnitz pass near the Union-1 was broken up to end the guests' threat.

After three straight road games, Union hits the road next week for a Liberty League contest at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (1 p.m.) on October 7. Merchant Marine plays a Liberty League game at Rochester October 7 at 1 p.m.