SCHENECTADY, N.Y. - The Union College women's lacrosse team outscored Vassar College by a 9-2 margin in a pivotal second period as Union erased an early four-goal deficit to knock off the Brewers by a 16-14 margin in a crucial Liberty League matchup on Saturday afternoon at Frank Bailey Field at Bertagna-Class of 1985 Stadium.
 
With the win, Union (8-3, 4-2 Liberty League) remains in a tie for third place in the Liberty League standings with three conference games remaining, half a game back of second-place St. Lawrence University. Vassar (6-5, 3-4 Liberty League) falls into a tie for sixth place in the conference standings.
 
Senior Sydney McPartlon led Union with four goals on Senior Day, with three coming in the second half as the home team held off a late rally. Junior Anna Smith recorded four points as well with three goals and an assist, while senior Dana Truini was all over the field with three goals, four ground balls, two caused turnovers and 10 draw controls. Sophomore Greta Maurer also played well with a goal, two assists and four draw controls.
 
Every senior on the roster chipped in on Senior Day as well, with Katie Julien and Elena Gerrato both scoring goals, Drew Charlton recording an assist, and defenders Isabelle Suttie and Brynne Rush both registering two ground balls and a caused turnover.
 
Vassar was paced by Kateri Sanseviro with a game-high seven points (five goals, two assists), as well as Annie Uyeki (six assists) and Maddy Kretten (five goals).
 
The Brewers got off to a good start on a sunny Saturday, scoring the first four goals of the game and taking a 5-1 lead with 4:35 left in the first frame. 
 
The game changed in the second stanza, however, with Union scoring nine times to take the lead for good. Truini and Maurer scored 60 seconds apart to get the home team back within a goal at 5-4, but a pair of Vassar goals upped the lead back to two at 7-5 with 7:57 left. However, McPartlon responded 12 seconds later and three subsequent tallies from Julien, Smith and first-year Maddie Doyle put Union up 9-7 with 3:09 on the clock. After Sanseviro brought the Brewers back within a goal soon after, two goals in 26 seconds from McPartlon and Smith gave Union an 11-8 lead at the half.
 
Vassar got within a goal on three occasions in the second half, but Union held firm and never lost the lead. Following a pair of Kretten goals that made it a 13-12 game early in the fourth period, McPartlon scored on the next possession to regain the two-goal edge. It was a 14-13 game when first-year Sydney Widlitz came up huge to keep Union ahead, stopping two free-position shots as part of a massive three-save possession. Junior Dana Nelson then came down the field and scored from the eight-meter arc to give the home team a two-goal edge once again, and Truini made it a 16-13 game with 3:59 left to put the score out of reach.
 
Widlitz finished the afternoon with 13 saves, including five in the first frame and four in the fourth, to earn her eighth win of the season. Vassar finished with a slight 31-30 edge in shots, but Union posted a 21-13 edge on the draws to take control of the game.
 
Union will return to action on Friday with another key Liberty League matchup against Rochester Institute of Technology beginning at 4 p.m. at Frank Bailey Field at Bertagna-Class of 1985 Stadium.