SCHENECTADY, N.Y. – For the first time since 2015, the Union College women's lacrosse team will begin postseason play on their home turf as fourth-seeded Union hosts fifth-seeded Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in the first round of the Liberty League Tournament on Tuesday at 7 p.m. at Frank Bailey Field at Bertagna-Class of 1985 Stadium.
 
Union (10-5, 6-4 Liberty League) and Rensselaer (11-4, 6-4 Liberty League) will meet in the first round for the second straight season, but this year the roles are reversed: last season, Union headed to Troy as the lower seed in the four-five matchup. In other first round games on Tuesday, second-seeded Ithaca College hosts seventh-seeded Skidmore College and sixth-seeded Vassar College travels to third-seeded St. Lawrence University. Top-seeded William Smith College received a bye into the semifinals.

LIVE COVERAGE: For those that can't make it to Schenectady for the game, you can follow along with live stats and live video. Fans can also get in-game updates and highlights by following @unionwlax on Twitter.

FREE STUFF: The first 70 Union students in attendance will get a free Union and Division III co-branded water bottle!
 
POSTSEASON HISTORY: Union is making its 15th appearance in the conference tournament and is 14-11 all-time in Liberty League Tournament play. Union boasts three Liberty League Tournament championships (2005, 2006, 2015) to its credit and has won five conference titles overall, including a pair of UCAA regular-season titles (1999, 2002) before the conference tournament was instituted in 2004.
 
UNION VS. THE ENGINEERS: These local rivals have met 35 times previously, with Union holding a 22-13 edge in the all-time series. The teams have faced off four times in the Liberty League Tournament, with Union winning the first (2011 semifinals) and last (2022 first round) meetings and RPI winning the middle two (2014 championship, 2012 semifinals). Last year, fifth-seeded Union traveled to Troy and knocked off the fourth-seeded Engineers by a 19-11 score to advance to the conference semifinals behind eight goals and two assists from Grace Heiting '22.
 
LAST MEETING: In the teams' regular-season meeting, first-year Sydney Widlitz made 16 saves and senior Sydney McPartlon scored four goals to lead Union to a 12-9 comeback victory over RPI on March 29 in Schenectady. Led by Widlitz, the defensive unit kept RPI off the scoreboard for more than 30 minutes as part of a 6-0 run that swung the score in favor of the home team. The visitors controlled 19-of-25 draws on the day, but Union caused 12 of RPI's 18 turnovers and held a 21-15 edge in ground balls to secure the win.
 
SYD THE (YOUNGER) KID: First-year goalie Sydney Widlitz has been excellent in goal for Union this season, bringing a .523 save percentage and 9.60 goals against average into Tuesday's game in addition to a 9-4 record. The netminder leads the Liberty League and ranks 21st in Division III in save percentage, and she also ranks second in the conference among full-time starters in both goals against average and saves per game (8.79). She was named the IWLCA Division III National Co-Defensive Player of the Week on April 4 after making 28 saves in wins over RPI and Ithaca, and her 20 saves against William Smith on April 22 are tied for the most by a Liberty League player this season.
  
SYD THE (OLDER) KID: Senior Sydney McPartlon ranks fifth in the Liberty League in goals per game this season with 40 goals in 15 outings, and became the 27th player in program history to reach 100 career points on April 21 against RIT. The attacker has scored 89 goals with 19 assists for 108 points despite playing just 33 career games due to the pandemic and injury. Her per-game stats rank her as one of the best scorers in program history, as she currently sits fifth all-time at Union by averaging 2.70 goals per game and also ranks eighth by averaging 3.27 points per contest.
 
BUILT FROM THE BACK: Union ranks second in the Liberty League by allowing 8.73 goals per game, while the team's .513 save percentage is 26th-best in Division III and 20 points higher than any other conference foe. Sophomore midfielder Greta Maurer ranks sixth in the conference in ground balls per game with 34 in 15 contests and has caused a team-best 18 turnovers as well, while junior defender Ella Trout ranks second on the in both ground balls (30) and caused turnovers (15). Senior Isabelle Suttie (20 ground balls, 13 caused turnovers) also helps to anchor the defensive unit and was named the Liberty League Defensive Player of the Week on April 3.
 
SHAY VS. SHAY: This matchup features a matchup of sisters who face off on the same side of the field. Sophomore Teagan Shay has started nine games on defense for Union this year and has recorded 10 ground balls and seven caused turnovers. Senior Megan Shay leads the Engineers and ranks third in the Liberty League with 48 goals and has controlled 71 draws so far this season.
 
ABOUT THE ENGINEERS: Rensselaer averages 14.6 goals per game to rank second in the Liberty League, led by Megan Shay's 48 goals that rank her third in the conference. Rylie Maready sits third in the conference in points per game with 33 goals and 26 assists for 59 points, and also forms a potent combination with Shay on the draw, with the pair combining for 207 draw controls; Maready's 136 draw controls (9.07 per game) rank 12th in Division III and the Engineers as a team are third-best in D-III by averaging over 18 draws won per outing. Olivia Kimball has started the last seven games in goal for RPI and brings a 10.78 goals against average and .454 save percentage into the week.
 
WHAT'S NEXT: The winner of today's game will advance to the semifinal round for a matchup against top-seeded William Smith College on Friday in Geneva.