AUSTIN, Texas – The #5 Union College men's lacrosse team suffered its first loss of the season on Tuesday evening, falling to #11/12 Middlebury College by a 15-9 score in a non-conference matchup at the University of Texas' Caven Lacrosse Center.
 
Junior Zach Davis led Union (5-1) with a game-high four goals, while classmates Jake Mabardy and Michael Shaw and first-year Emmett Lyne added a goal and an assist each. Middlebury (5-0) was paced by Billy Curtis with a goal and three assists.
 
The start started promisingly for Union, with senior Peter Burnes netting an unassisted tally on the game's first possession to give Union the lead. However, despite winning 11-of-14 faceoffs in the opening half, turnovers limited Union's possessions and allowed Middlebury to take control. The Panthers scored the final four goals of the first quarter and then rattled off the first four of the second stanza to take an 8-1 lead with 3:41 to go before halftime.
 
Mabardy finally ended the eight-goal string by scoring off a feed from Lyne with 2:59 on the clock. After Middlebury got one back, Davis again made it a six-goal deficit with 1:23 remaining to put the score at 9-3 Middlebury after 30 minutes.
 
Union turned the ball over 13 times in the opening half and went 6-for-10 on clearing attempts, as the team was unable to capitalize on their excellence at the faceoff X.
 
The deficit proved to be too much for Union to overcome in the second half, as the team was able to score consecutive goals only once. Union got within five goals on three occasions in the third quarter, only to have Middlebury respond each time to bump the lead back up to six. Union made it a five-goal game again early in the fourth thanks to goals from Davis and Lyne 24 seconds apart, but the team managed only one tally the rest of the way.
 
Junior Dan Donahue made 14 saves to keep Union in the game, but 20 turnovers hurt Union's chances on the offensive end. Junior Matthew Paolatto did his best to gain possessions for Union, winning 17-of-24 draws and grabbing a game-high eight ground balls.
 
Union will return to action on Saturday, when the team begins Liberty League play against #7 St. Lawrence University at 1 p.m. at Frank Bailey Field at Bertagna-Class of 1985 Stadium