SCHENECTADY, N.Y. – The #4 Union College men's lacrosse team finished off the best regular season in program history in style on Saturday, cruising to a 22-4 victory over Vassar College at Frank Bailey Field at Bertagna-Class of 1985 Stadium.
 
The win clinches a home Liberty League Tournament semifinal game for Union (14-1, 6-1 Liberty League) and matches the 2015 (14-5) and 2019 (14-4) teams for the second-most wins in a season in program history, trailing only the 2014 team that went 15-4.
 
Twenty-one different players had at least one point for the Dutchmen, who started to empty the bench as early as the second quarter in order to get everyone a chance on the field. Seniors Hayden Frey and Peter Burnes made the most of their limited playing time, with Frey leading all players with seven points (three goals, four assists) and Burnes adding six points (three goals, three assists). Senior Matt Belluche also scored the first two goals of his career in the victory, while sophomore Finn Garrity and Matt Blasi netted their first collegiate goals as well.
 
Union finished the game with a 58-20 edge in shots, with senior Reed Karaska coming up big with eight saves on nine shots in the second half. The Dutchmen once again dominated at the X by winning 22-of-30 draws, led by senior Sam Byrne with 11 ground balls on 14 wins and sophomore Matthew Paolatto with seven wins on 10 draws.
 
The home team set the tone right from the opening draw, when Byrne won the faceoff and dished off to junior Jake Titus for a score just 11 seconds in. Union outscored Vassar 6-0 in the opening frame, with Burnes and Frey both chipping in two points during the run. The scoring continued into the second, with Union netting six in a row to take a 13-1 lead with 5:58 left on sophomore Justin Greene's eighth of the year.
 
Vassar scored the final two goals of the second stanza and the first goal of the third to get back within nine at 13-4, but it was all Union after that, with the home team rattling off nine straight to end the contest. All five fourth-quarter goals came from first-years and sophomores, including the first of the year from Blasi, Garrity and sophomore Clayton Arcuri as well as the second of the season from sophomore Michael Shaw and first-year Hazen Pike.
 
Union will begin their postseason run on Wednesday, when the Dutchmen host the Liberty League Tournament semifinals against third-seeded St. Lawrence University. Check UnionAthletics.com early next week for game information and a full tournament preview.