ROCHESTER, N.Y. – The #12 Union College men's lacrosse team scored the final five goals of the game and had possession with under 20 seconds left, but the Dutchmen came up just short in a 10-9 heartbreaking defeat to #1 Rochester Institute of Technology in the third round of the 2019 NCAA Div. III Championship at the RIT Turf Field.
 
Union (14-4) had the nation's top team completely on the ropes in the fourth frame, scoring three unanswered goals and becoming the first team all season to keep RIT (20-1) off the scoreboard for an entire quarter. Sophomore Brian Davis scored 1:05 into the stanza to get within three at 10-7, followed by sophomore Hayden Frey's second of the game to make it a two-goal contest with 8:09 left.
 
After several excellent defensive stands, junior Jack Kaufman scored with 2:15 remaining to put the Dutchmen down by only a goal. Union had the ball with under two minutes left, but the visitors just barely did not get the ball over midfield in the requisite 20 seconds and turned it back over to the Tigers. However, as it has all season long, the defense stood tall once again to get the ball back with a chance to tie.
 
The Dutchmen called timeout with 16 seconds left to set up a final possession but the team could not get a shot off, as the RIT defense tightened up and forced a turnover with seven seconds left to deal the Dutchmen a heartbreaking loss.
 
Frey was the only Union player to score more than once, with his two goals matching junior Michael Sands (one goal, one assist) for the team lead in points. Six other Dutchmen scored one goal each, as the team's balanced scoring attack nearly erased a big third-quarter deficit.
 
The Union comeback started late in the third quarter with two goals in the final minute. Sophomore Keaton McCann connected from long range with 41 seconds left to make the score 10-5, and then a nice crease dive by the appropriately named senior James Diver with two seconds on the clock gave the visitors more momentum headed to the fourth down by four.
 
Ultimately, Union's first-half deficit proved to be barely too much to overcome, as RIT jumped out to an 8-3 halftime lead. There were not many highlights in the opening 30 minutes, but one came from junior Kerry Lyne, who scored the 100th goal of his career in the second quarter. The junior has led the Dutchmen in goals in each of his first three seasons with the program and will enter his senior season with 100 goals and 18 assists to his credit.
 
Junior Griffin Morgan led the defensive unit with four ground balls and two caused turnovers, while senior Jack Santilli made 11 saves on 21 on-target attempts in his final collegiate game.
 
The loss brings to a close an incredible season for the Dutchmen, whose 14 wins are tied for the second-most in a season in school history. The team's 12-1 start was the best 13-game start in program history as well, thanks to its record-tying eight All-Conference selections. Six of those All-Liberty League picks are slated to return next year as the Dutchmen look to get back to the NCAA Tournament for a second straight season.