ITHACA, N.Y. – The #11/13 Union College football team had its hopes for a second straight Liberty League championship hopes dashed on Saturday afternoon at Butterfield Stadium, as the Dutchmen fell to #23/25 Ithaca College by a 26-7 score.
 
Coming into the game with the conference's top offense, Union (8-1, 4-1 Liberty League) struggled to get going offensively all day long against Ithaca (8-1, 5-1 Liberty League), finishing with a 292 yards of offense and three turnovers.
 
Senior Ike Irabor ran for 154 yards on 27 carries to lead the Dutchmen, while classmate Andre Ross Jr. led the team through the air with three catches for 59 yards and a touchdown. With his score, Ross Jr. ties Justin Gallo '12 for the most touchdown catches in program history with 34.
 
After both teams went three-and-out on their first possessions, Ithaca became the first team to score first against Union this season with a 10-play, 56-yard drive that resulted in a four-yard touchdown pass from A.J. Wingfield to Billy Tedeschi on third and goal with 8:37 left in the opening frame. Union could not respond on its next possession, and Ithaca came back with another long drive that included three third-down conversions, eventually getting a Nicholas Bahamonde field goal to take a 10-0 lead.
 
The subsequent Union drive was huge both in terms of momentum and time of possession. The Dutchmen held the ball for nearly 10 minutes and ran 19 plays, overcoming a pair of penalties and converting two fourth-and-shorts to get into the red zone. But three more Union penalties stalled the drive and the team had to settle for a field-goal attempt that was missed to keep the game 10-0 at the half.
 
After Union fumbled on the opening possession of the third quarter, Ithaca scored on its next three possessions, getting two field goals and a touchdown to take a 23-0 lead in the opening minute of the fourth.
 
Union finally got on the board thanks to a 57-yard touchdown pass to Ross Jr. from senior William Bellamy with 12:12 remaining, and the visitors looked to pick up a little momentum after forcing an Ithaca three-and-out to get the ball back at the Ithaca 45. However, the first play of the drive resulted in an interception run back nearly to the line of scrimmage, and the home team kept Union off the scoreboard the rest of the way.
 
The Dutchmen will close out the regular season next Saturday at Frank Bailey Field at Bertagna-Class of 1985 Stadium, when Union welcomes rival Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute to Schenectady for the annual Dutchman Shoes game beginning at noon.