ROCHESTER, NY – Senior attack Nolan Connors had two goals and one assist, and sophomore goalie Stefan Basile made 16 saves, but the upset bid for Union men's lacrosse fell short as the Dutchmen fell, 13-7 to No. 1 seed RIT in the Liberty League Semifinals at Tiger Stadium.
 
With the loss, Union finishes the season 8-7 (3-3 Liberty League), while RIT, the No. 3 team in the nation, improved to 15-2 (6-0 Liberty League) and will advance to face No. 3 seed Clarkson in the Liberty League Championship game.
 
RIT's Alec Sulesky had four goals and Taylor Wisman had two goals and three assists to lead the Tigers' offensive attack, while sophomore goalie Pat Johnston (21 saves) was outstanding in net.
 
Union, which trailed 3-0 early in the contest, rallied for four straight goals to close out the first half, shutting down the RIT attack to take a 4-3 lead heading into the half. Junior attack Nate Greenberg got things going, scoring on a low to high shot at 10:57.
 
Early on in the second quarter Rob Santangelo added another goal, hitting the top corner at 12:46 to further cut into the lead. Sophomore attack Adam Rosenthal scored on a turnaround shot at 9:46, and Connors notched his first of the game at 4:53 from just outside the goal circle to put Union up 4-3 heading into halftime.
 
At the half, Union had outshot RIT, 31-11, and had dominated possession for long stretches of the first 30:00.
 
The Tigers rallied in the second half, scoring five unanswered goals to take the lead for good. Sulesky scored his first of the contest at 10:09, ending a scoreless stretch of 32:04 for the Tigers. His score was followed by goals from Allister Warren (9:33), Braden Wallace (7:36), Taylor Wisman (6:31) and Jack Kryzton (3:09).
 
Junior midfielder Jonathan Andrews answered with a run from the top of the offensive zone at the 0:56 mark to make it 8-5 heading into the fourth quarter.
 
But Sulesky scored three of his four goals in another 5-0 run for the Tigers to put the contest away. Sophomore attack Richard Gregory and Connors scored in the final five minutes to round out the scoring for the Dutchmen.
 
RIT controlled the faceoff circle, holding a 17-7 advantage on draws and a 35-29 edge on ground balls. Union outshot RIT 44-38 for the contest, but the Tigers held a 27-13 advantage in the second half.