SCHENECTADY, N.Y. – The Union College men's soccer team came out on the wrong end of a back-and-forth Liberty League matchup on Wednesday evening, falling to St. Lawrence University by a 4-2 score at College Park Field.
 
The loss keeps Union (5-7-4, 1-3-2 Liberty League) in eighth place in the conference standings with three matches remaining, four points back of sixth-place Rochester Institute of Technology for the sixth and final spot. St. Lawrence (7-2-4, 4-0-3 Liberty League) moves past Vassar College into first place with the win.
 
First-years Gio Capellino and Owen Everett earned the goals for Union on the evening, while Sam Pijpers led four SLU goal scorers with a goal and two assists.
 
The Garnet Chargers had the better of possession in the opening half and boasted a commanding 7-1 edge in shots, but the only one that found the net was off a Saints foot. Exactly 16 minutes into the contest, Pijpers won a ball at the side of the box and dribbled toward the middle where Henry Brown struck a one-timer into the left-side netting from 12 yards out to put the visitors in front.
 
Union took the final six shots of the half and had several good opportunities, including a header by senior Alan Daniel in the 39th minute that was parried away by keeper George Charalambous and a free kick from Daniel in the 42nd minute that went right to Charalambous from 18 yards out.

The game opened up considerably in the second half, with the teams combining for five goals. Pijipers made it a two-goal lead for the Saints in the 65th minute with an unassisted tally, but the home team came back 2:04 later to make it a one-goal game again. Junior Justin Ely sent a long ball into the box where senior Diego Pascual was able to deftly volley it back into the middle for Capellino, whose one-timer found the net for his third goal of the year.
 
The margin did not last long, however, as Max Mogul scored less than four minutes later to regain the SLU two-goal edge. The Saints added one more in the 88th minute off the foot of Grant Gilmer before Everett tallied his team-leading fourth goal of the year with a seeing-eye shot in the final minute that provided the final margin.
 
Union finished the evening with a 15-10 edge in shots. Shots on goal were 7-6 in favor of the home team, with Charalambous making five saves and first-year Jackson Magee stopping two.
 
Union will return to action on Saturday with another key Liberty League match against RIT starting at 1 p.m. at College Park Field.