SCHENECTADY, N.Y. – For the first time since 2015, the Union College men's lacrosse team will begin the postseason at home, as the second-seeded Dutchmen get set to host third-seeded Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute on Wednesday at Frank Bailey Field at Bertagna-Class of 1985 Stadium.
 
GAME DETAILS: 5:00 p.m. - Frank Bailey Field at Bertagna-Class of 1985 Stadium. Admission to the game is free.
 
LIVE COVERAGE: Union will provide a free live video stream of the game at http://www.unionathletics.com/mlaxvideo and live stats will also be available at http://www.unionathletics.com/sidearmstats/mlax. Fans can also follow all the action via social media on Twitter and Instagram!
 
THE TEAMS: Union (12-2, 7-1 Liberty League) is seeded second in the tournament for the fifth time since 2008 and are facing off with third-seeded RPI (12-4, 5-3 Liberty League). Top-seeded RIT (16-1, 8-0 Liberty League) and fifth-seeded St. Lawrence University (13-3, 5-3 Liberty League) will meet in Wednesday's second semifinal. Wednesday's winners advance to the conference championship game, held at the highest remaining seed on Saturday, May 4.
 
POSTSEASON HISTORY: Union is making its 11th postseason appearance in the last 12 years and is 6-9 all-time in Liberty League Tournament play, reaching the championship game on five occasions (2008, 2011-12, 2014-15) and capturing one conference tournament title in 2011. Union and Rensselaer have met twice previously in conference tournament play, with Union earning an 8-3 semifinal win in 2014 and winning by an 8-7 (2 OT) score in the 2011 championship game.

LAST MEETING: Union went to Troy and came away with a 17-12 victory on April 17, breaking open a tie game with the only five goals of the fourth quarter. Junior Kerry Lyne led the Dutchmen with five points (three goals, two assists), while senior Jack Santilli made 11 saves to earn the win.
 
UNION IN THE POLLS: The Dutchmen are ranked 12th in the latest USILA Div. III Coaches Poll for the second week in a row, the team's highest ranking of the season and tied for its highest ranking since the 2015 campaign.
 
DEFENSE FIRST: Union enters the week ranked 18th in Division III in scoring defense, allowing only 7.64 goals per game. The team has conceded more than seven goals just six times and has not allowed more than 12 goals in any game this season. Junior Edward Winters leads the defensive unit with 41 ground balls and a team-best 25 caused turnovers, followed by sophomore Ryan Puglisi with 19 caused turnovers.
 
SANTILLI SAVES: Senior Jack Santilli enters the week with the 10th-best goals against average (7.39) in Division III this season, while his .604 save percentage is 12th in the country. The senior netminder was the March ECAC North Goalie of the Month and is the only Liberty League goalie to rank in the top-two of the conference in both categories.
 
X MARKS THE SPOT: Senior Alex Newhouse ranks 61st in Division III with a .602 (115 of 191) winning percentage at the face-off spot. He won a season-high 21-of-25 draws against Ithaca on April 6 and earned a spot on the USILA Div. III Team of the Week as a result.  The senior leads the team with 67 ground balls, ranking fifth in the conference in ground balls per game.
 
DISTRIBUTION OF WEALTH: Union had three players at or near the 30-goal plateau this season, which would be the first time (per available records) that three Dutchmen scored 30 goals in the same season. Junior Kerry Lyne has a team-best 30 goals and is tied for the team lead in points with sophomore Hayden Frey (28 goals, nine assists). Fellow sophomore Keaton McCann also has 28 goals on the year and is the only Dutchman to score at least once in all 14 games this season.