SCHENECTADY, N.Y. – Sydney McPartlon scored three times to become the 27th player in program history to reach 100 career points, but it was not enough as Union College could not dig out of an early hole in suffering a 13-9 defeat to Rochester Institute of Technology in Liberty League women's lacrosse action on Friday afternoon at Frank Bailey Field at Bertagna-Class of 1985 Stadium.
 
McPartlon reached the century mark with her second tally of the afternoon, the 84th of her career to go with 16 assists. Her third goal of the game and 85th career tally moved her into sole possession of 25th place on the school career scoring list as well.
 
The loss was a difficult one for Union (8-4, 4-3 Liberty League) in the race for the postseason, dropping Union into fourth place and only a half-game ahead of three teams at 4-4 with one game still in hand. RIT (4-8, 3-5 Liberty League) keeps its postseason hopes alive with the win.
 
McPartlon got the game off to a good start for Union by scoring on the game's first possession, but things went downhill quickly after that as the Tigers scored twice in 26 seconds to take back the lead and added another later in the frame while keeping Union off the scoreboard.
 
The visitors scored the first three goals of the second stanza to build up a 6-1 advantage before senior Drew Charlton scored her first of three on the day to end the six-goal stretch with 11:33 left. Another Charlton tally and a goal by junior Anna Smith made it a 6-4 game, but RIT came back less than a minute later to regain a three-goal edge and take it into halftime.
 
The teams went more than 10 minutes without scoring to start the third frame before a Charlton goal with 4:25 left made it a 7-5 game. RIT goalie Michelle Messenger made two big stops on the next possession to dull the Union momentum, and RIT regained control with three goals in the final two minutes to take a 10-5 lead into the fourth.
 
Union tried to claw back into the game in the final frame, with McPartlon starting with a score in the opening minute. After an RIT response, McPartlon and senior Katie Julien scored 25 seconds apart to bring Union back within three, and a goal by sophomore Greta Maurer with 7:32 left made it an 11-9 RIT lead. Union had a chance to get closer on the next possession but Messenger came up with a big stop for the Tigers. Zoe Heffernan scored on the next opportunity for the visitors and Union never got a chance to get any closer.
 
Union finished the afternoon with a 31-26 edge in shots, but Messenger came up with 15 saves to keep her team ahead. First-year Sydney Widlitz made 10 saves for Union in a losing effort.
 
Union will play its final home game of the regular season tomorrow with a 2 p.m. matchup against #3/2 William Smith College.