Box Score

SCHENECTADY, NY – In a winner-takes-all bout against Rensselaer (5-8, 3-3), the Union College men's lacrosse team prevailed 8-5 and clinched the final spot in the 2009 Liberty League Championship Tournament. The Dutchmen (7-6, 3-3) enter next weekend as the fourth seed and will face top-seed and host school St. Lawrence on Friday.

 

Union was led by junior Christopher Jacobson, who posted a goal and two assists. The Dutchmen had eight different goal contributors.

 

The Engineers were paced by three goals from senior Josh Secora and two goals from freshman Andrew Miller.

 

Between the pipes, senior Christopher Keniath earned his six win of the year with 15 stops, while at the other end senior Ryan DeJordy made 12 stops.

 

The first half saw the goalies and the defenses shine with only four goals between the two teams. Union tallied the only first quarter goal at 4:42 when senior Matthew Douthlas found the back of the net for his fifth of the season.

 

RPI answered at the 7:44 mark of the second when Secora scored his first goal of the game, but Union responded with goals at 3:24 and 1:58. Sophomore Brendan Kinnane had the first and junior Charles Hovsepian followed with the second.

 

The back-to-back goals sparked a six-goal run for the Union which saw goals from Ted McKenna,  Jacobson, Will Mahony and Peter Kennedy in the opening five minutes of the third quarter.

 

With their playoff hopes slipping away, RPI mounted a comeback with two goals in the last third of the quarter to move the score to 7-3.

 

After Union's leading scorer Andrew Higgins posted his 28^th goal of the year, unassisted at 13:32 of the third.

 

RPI's last stand included goals from Miller (5:32) and Secora (1:12), but Union held on for the win and grabbed its ticket for the postseason.

 

The Engineers control the shot battle, 33-30, but Union had the advantage in groundballs, 48-36 and face-offs, 14-of-17.