NCAA Championship Game Notes (PDF)

SCHENECTADY, N.Y. - The #8/10 Union College men's lacrosse team looks to cap a magical 2022 season with one more history-making victory, as the Dutchmen battle with Liberty League rival and national #1/2 Rochester Institute of Technology in the 2022 NCAA Division III national championship game on Sunday, May 29 in East Hartford, Conn.

WHEN: Sunday, May 29, 2022 - 1:00 p.m.
WHERE: Pratt and Whitney Stadium at Rentschler Field (East Hartford, Conn.)
FOLLOW LIVE: NCAA.com | Twitter | No TV feed available
TICKETS: NCAATickets.com
MORE INFORMATION: UnionAthletics.com
READ MORE: Local and National Coverage

NCAA TOURNAMENT HISTORY: Union is making its sixth NCAA Tournament appearance and first since the 2019 season. Union is 11-5 all-time in the NCAAs and has won at least one game in all six NCAA appearances. The team's four tournament wins so far this season are double the program's previous record of two wins in both 2012 and 2014.
 
UNION IN THE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP: The men's lacrosse team is making its first appearance in the national title game in program history, and only the fourth all-time for any Union sport. Union appeared in and won the 2014 Division I men's hockey national championship, while the football team appeared in the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl in both 1983 and 1989.
 
PARTY LIKE IT'S 1929: The men's lacrosse team does have one national title to its credit. The 1929 team was named the USILA co-national champions with Navy and received the Wingate Trophy (given to the nation's best team) after posting a perfect 7-0 record. Led by first-year head coach Bill Harkness and captained by Gilbert John Potter, the team included U.S. Lacrosse Hall of Famers Jason Stranahan and Fred Wyatt.
 
SO WE MEET AGAIN: After having never played three of its first four NCAA Tournament opponents, Union now faces a team it is very familiar with. Unfortunately for Union, the familiarity has not come with a lot of success: RIT is 25-3 all-time against Union and has won the last 20 meetings since joining the Liberty League in 2012, with Union's last win coming in head coach Derek Witheford's freshman season of 2008. The Tigers have won all 10 postseason meetings between the schools, including NCAA Tournament victories in 2014 (11-6), 2015 (10-9) and 2019 (10-9).
 
LAST MEETING: Union has consistently stayed close with the Tigers, with the last four contests decided by either one or two goals. In the regular season, Union held RIT off the scoreboard in the fourth quarter but only managed to score two goals in falling by a 14-13 score on April 9 in Rochester. Senior Keaton McCann led the Dutchmen with five goals in the loss, which snapped the team's program-record-tying 10-game winning streak to start the season.
 
HOW UNION GOT HERE: Union received a Pool C bid into the NCAA Tournament after falling in the Liberty League Tournament semifinals, but the Dutchmen rebounded nicely with a pair of convincing wins at home to start off NCAA Tournament play. The team outscored John Carroll University 10-4 in the first half on the way to a 14-7 second-round win on Saturday, and then got off to another quick start with the first seven goals of the game to cruise past Western New England University, 21-11, in the third round.

Last weekend in Newport News, Va., senior Kieran McGovern scored the game-tying goal with less than a minute remaining and classmate Keaton McCann netted the game-winner with under 10 ticks on the clock to get Union past Gettysburg College, in the national quarterfinals. The team then came back 24 hours later and scored the first six goals of the game in a hard-fought 11-8 win over York College of Pennsylvania in the national semifinals. Nine different players scored the team's 11 goals against the Spartans.

RECORD BREAKERS: Union has shattered nearly every possible single-season record this season.  Through 20 games, the Dutchmen have set new single-season standards in goals (295), assists (170), points (465), ground balls (742), caused turnovers (186), faceoff percentage (.649) and wins (18).

SWEET 16: With the team's 16th victory of the year against Western New England, Union surpassed the 2014 team (15-4) for the most wins in a season in program history. Union has reached double digits in wins eight times in the last 15 years after doing so three times in the program's first 87 years.

ALL-AMERICAN BOYS: Seven members of the Union men's lacrosse team were named All-Americans by USA Lacrosse Magazine last week. Senior Ryan Puglisi was named to the first team, followed by junior Jake Titus and senior Kieran McGovern on the third team. In addition, seniors Peter Burnes and Matt Belluche as well as sophomores Dan Donahue and Matthew Paolatto were named honorable mention.
 
GIVE ME LIBERTY: The Liberty League proved to be one of the toughest conferences in Division III this season and was rewarded with four NCAA Tournament berths, tied with the NESCAC for the most of any conference. Conference schools posted a combined 56-8 record in non-conference play during the regular season, with Union leading the way by recording its first undefeated non-conference slate (8-0) ever. This meeting marks the first time in Division III men's lacrosse history that two conference schools are meeting for the national championship.
 
A TOUGH ROAD: Sixteen of Union's 20 games so far this season have come against regionally ranked teams, with the Dutchmen posting a 14-2 record in those contests. Union's opponents have a combined 224-103 (.685) record this season. The Dutchmen are 7-2 in games against nationally ranked opposition this year, including wins over #3 Tufts University, #5 St. John Fisher College, and #6 York (Pa.) College.
 
UNION IN THE POLLS: The Dutchmen have been ranked in every national poll this season, having been ranked no lower than 12th in the USILA or Inside Lacrosse rankings. Union has been ranked as high as third in the IL media poll and fourth in the USILA coaches poll in 2022, the highest ranking for the program since the 2015 team was ranked third in the USILA poll.
 
THEY'D BE HONORED: Union tied a program record with 10 All-Liberty League selections this season. Senior Peter Burnes was the first player in program history to earn conference Offensive Player of the Year honors, and was joined on the first team by senior Matt Belluche, junior Jake Titus and sophomore Matthew Paolatto. Seniors Brian Davis, Hayden Frey, Kieran McGovern and Ryan Puglisi, as well as junior Clint Gourdeau and sophomore Dan Donahue, all earned All-Conference second-team honors.
  
EXCLUSIVE COMPANY: With his fourth straight All-Liberty League second-team honor, senior Hayden Frey is just the second player in program history to earn four All-Conference nods in a career. He joins former Dutchman All-American and current head coach Derek Witheford '11, who earned four straight honors from 2008-11, on the exclusive list. Frey enters the weekend sixth in school history in career points (168) and eighth in career goals (108).
 
X MARKS THE SPOT: Union boasts one of the nation's top one-two punches at the faceoff X in senior Sam Byrne and sophomore Matthew Paolatto. Paolatto ranks ninth in Division III by winning 183 of his 259 draws (70.7 percent), while Byrne has won 149 of 258 draws (57.8 percent) to rank 75th. In total, Union ranks 19th in the country by winning 64.9 percent of its draws so far in 2022.
 
FEELING THE BURNES: Senior Peter Burnes is having one of the best offensive seasons in Union men's lacrosse history. The attacker ranks second in both goals and points in a single-season at Union, with his 59 goals trailing only the 67 of Dennis Walker '74 in 1974 and his 84 points behind only the 94 put up by Bob Grossman '75 in 1974.

ONE-MAN GANG: Senior Peter Burnes single-handedly outscored Western New England in the three quarters he saw the field in the third round of the NCAA Tournament on May 15, scoring seven goals to WNE's six. His nine points matched senior Keaton McCann for the most by a Dutchman this season, while the seven goals scored are the most by a Union player since at least 2003 and may be the most in a game since Neil Kanner scored 10 in 1980.

MCCANN CAN: Fellow senior Keaton McCann remains in sixth place on Union's career scoring list with 119 goals and also moved into eight-place all-time in points  last weekend with 161. His career average of 1.83 goals per game is the sixth-best mark ever at the school. His 43 goals and 67 points so far this season rank eighth and 10th, respectively, on the school's single-season lists as well.

SPREADING THE WEALTH: All three of Union's starting attackmen have earned Liberty League Offensive Player of the Week awards this season. Seniors Hayden Frey and Peter Burnes have both earned the honor twice, while classmate Keaton McCann has been selected once. With all three players over the 50-point plateau on the season, it marks the first time in program history that three Union teammates recorded 50 or more points in the same season.

AWARD-WINNING: Sophomore Dan Donahue earned his seventh Liberty League Defensive Player of the Week award of the season this week, the most times ever that a Union player has been recognized in a single season. Donahue enters the weekend with a program-record 17 victories and ranks top-50 in the country with a .574 save percentage and 9.42 goals against average.
 
ABOUT THE TIGERS: RIT (21-1, 6-1 Liberty League) received a Pool A berth into the NCAA Tournament after defeating #10 St. Lawrence University 13-5 in the Liberty League championship game. The defending national champions, RIT is making its 23rd NCAA Tournament appearance – including 12th in a row – and is playing in the national title game for the fourth time (2013, 2017, 2021).
 
The Tigers have outscored their opponents by an 90-38 margin and are averaging over 21 goals per game through the first four games of the NCAA Tournament. RIT hosted two games last weekend and rolled to a 20-14 win over #9 Bowdoin College and a 26-15 victory over #4 Tufts University. The team ranks seventh in Division III in scoring offense, averaging 18.14 goals per game, thanks in part to an efficient transition offense that leads the nation in clearing percentage (90.9 percent) and ranks fourth in ground balls.

Luke Pilcher leads the offensive attack with 58 goals and 20 assists for 78 points, and ranks sixth in the country with 12 man-up goals so far this season. Quinn Commandant sits second on the team with 67 points (42 goals, 25 assists) and Marley Angus has 63 points (38 goals, 25 assists) to rank third on the squad. In goal, Drew Hutchison ranks 18th in Division III with an 8.19 goals against average, while Taylor Jensen leads the defensive effort with 76 ground balls and a team-leading 45 caused turnovers.

National and Local Coverage of Union Lacrosse:
Times Union: Led by fifth-year players, Union men's lacrosse ready for national championship game (5/28/22)
Daily Gazette: Union College set for men's lacrosse national championship game (5/28/22)
Spectrum News: Witheford carves out his own legacy at Union (5/27/22)
Daily Gazette: Postponing the real world for a shot at a national title — and getting one (5/27/22)
Daily Gazette: Witheford is the right coach for Union men's lacrosse team (5/27/22)
Inside Lacrosse: Union's Burnes Put in Work, Looks to Punctuate Stellar Senior Year With Title (5/26/22)
Daily Gazette: Paolatto, Byrne help Union men's lacrosse team have faceoff advantage (5/26/22)
Times Union: Union men's lacrosse could break 20-game losing streak against RIT in national championship game (5/26/22)
New England Lacrosse Journal: Local Guys Who Can Impact the D-II, D-III Finals (5/26/22)
USA Lacrosse Magazine: Facing Goliath RIT, Union Men's Lacrosse Focusing on the Moment (5/25/22)
Times Union: Union men's lacrosse goalie cites short memory as key to success (5/24/22)
Daily Gazette: Union men's lacrosse begins prep for national championship game (5/24/22)
Times Union: Union men's lacrosse headed to Division III national title game (5/22/22)
Daily Gazette: Union College reaches first NCAA Division III Men's Lacrosse Tournament final (5/22/22)
Daily Gazette: Union men's lacrosse advances to national semifinals (5/21/22)
Times Union: Union men's lacrosse beats Gettysburg in NCAA quarterfinal (5/21/22)
Times Union: Union lacrosse coach Derek Witheford making his mentor proud (5/20/22)
Daily Gazette: Union men's lacrosse goalie Karaska the emotional leader of team (5/20/22)
Daily Gazette: Union's Burnes has made a rapid rise on men's lacrosse team (5/19/22)