SCHENECTADY, NY – Freshman quarterback Andrew Connolly tied a Union College school record with five touchdown passes and sophomore running back Chris Coney rushed for 94 yards and a touchdown to lead Union to a 42-14 victory over the United States Merchant Marine Academy on “Senior Day” at Frank Bailey Field Saturday afternoon.

The Dutchmen improved to 4-4 overall and 3-3 in the Liberty League while the Mariners fell to 2-7, 1-5. This was Union's fifth straight win in the series. Union scored the most points since putting up 54 points at Merchant Marine last September 29.

Connolly's five touchdowns tied the Union record held by Anthony Marotti, who tossed for five scores in 2004 against Rochester and 2005 vs. St. Lawrence. Connolly was 11 for 25 for 182 yards, while Jared Gourrier had 79 yards on three catches, including two touchdowns. Charles Hovsepian had two sacks and three tackles for losses with six tackles for the Dutchmen, while John Peters posted seven tackles for Union.

USMMA quarterback Derrick Ventre (Cincinnati, OH) was 14 for 34 for 123 yards and two touchdowns, while Grant Wright (St. Petersburg, FL) had 54 yards on seven catches. Nick Thompson (Marietta, FL) had nine solo tackles, an interception and a tackle for a loss for the Mariners. Union outgained the visitors, 378 to 191, and held the Mariners to 68 yards rushing.

Union opened the scoring when Mike Concannon caught a 15 yard pass from Connolly just 3:10 into the game to cap an eight play, 73 yard drive. Merchant Marine tied it when Chris Rye (Bel Air, MD) caught an 11 yard pass from Ventre at 7:45, for a two play, 14 yard drive in 51 seconds. Union's Justin Gallo caught a 22 yard strike from Connolly with 2:23 remaining in the quarter for the 14-7 lead, a lead that the Dutchmen would not relinquish. It was a four play, 25 yard drive that consumed just 1:29.

Josh McKelligan, one of 17 seniors honored prior to kickoff, had a five yard scoring catch from Connolly at 7:54 on the second quarter, on an impressive drive that took 76 yards on 12 plays in 5:31. With 1:57 left in the half, Coney scored his league leading 15th rushing touchdown for a three play, 19 yard drive in 1:11 and the Dutchmen led 28-7 entering the locker room.

Gourrier had an impressive 34 yard touchdown pass from Connolly with only 1:39 gone in the third quarter, that came after the Mariners did not convert a fourth down attempt. Ventre's eight yard pass to Wright with 6:19 left in the third quarter provided the final USMMA points of the day, as the six play, 30 yard drivfe in 2:50 made it 35-14. But the Dutchmen closed out the scoring with a 25 yard pass from Connolly to Gourrier with 10:50 left in the fourth period.

Both teams close out the regular season schedule next week, Saturday, November 15. The Dutchmen play Liberty League foe Susquehanna at 12 p.m. while the Mariners host RPI at 1 p.m.