WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. – Sophomore Emmett Lyne broke an 11-all tie with 1:59 remaining in regulation and senior Dan Donahue sealed the win with his 21st save of the night as the #11/15 Union College men's lacrosse team remained undefeated with a 12-11 victory over #18/19 Williams College on a rainy Wednesday evening at Farley-Lamb Stadium.
 
There were several heroes in the win for Union (4-0), but one of the biggest was Donahue, who tied the third-highest total of his career with 21 stops, with an incredible 17 of those saves coming in the second half when the Union offense managed just two goals. Classmate Matthew Paolatto also had a huge game at the faceoff X, winning 21-of-23 draws and grabbing 12 ground balls while also matching his career high with two goals.
 
Nine different players accounted for Union's 12 goals, with Paolatto and classmates Jake Mabardy and Michael Shaw the only ones to score twice. Mabardy added two assists for a four-point effort, a total that was matched by fellow senior Peter Kip with a goal and three helpers.
 
After the first collegiate goal from sophomore John Sula and a tally by classmate Matt McKenzie helped the teams split the opening 15 minutes, Union dominated play in the second stanza to the tune of an 8-3 advantage to take a 10-5 lead into halftime. After spotting the Ephs the frame's first two tallies, the Garnet Chargers rattled off five goals in less than four minutes to take back the lead, starting with two goals in 10 seconds from Shaw and Paolatto and then two in 38 seconds soon after from Shaw and junior Hazen Pike. The visitors added three more goals in 2:24 to close out the frame and double up Williams (1-1) after 30 minutes.
 
The third quarter was not a pretty one for the visitors, as Union turned the ball over seven times and managed only eight shots in a scoreless frame. Luckily for the Garnet Chargers, Donahue made eight saves to limit the Ephs to only two goals and keep his team up by three goals headed into the fourth.
 
The drought continued for nearly 10 minutes in the fourth quarter, allowing the home team to score three times and tie the score at 10 with 10:41 left. Donahue made four saves on one extended possession to keep the game tied before Union finally got the ball back and senior Zach Davis found the net with 5:20 left. Williams tied the game with 3:24 remaining and the Ephs had a chance to take the lead again after their second faceoff win of the night, but Donahue made another stop to win back possession and Lyne made a run to goal for the go-ahead tally with 1:59 on the clock.
 
As has been the case in almost every game this season, it came down to a final possession after Union turned the ball over with under a minute remaining. Following a Williams timeout, Donahue stood tall one last time by denying Finlay Macknight on the doorstep with 24 seconds left and the Garnet Chargers were able to run out the clock.
 
Union finished the night on the wrong end of a 50-40 shot disparity and turned the ball over 26 times to Williams' seven. However, a commanding 22-2 edge in faceoff wins, a 44-29 ground ball advantage and Donahue's 21 saves helped to overcome the negatives.
 
Following an undefeated three-game road swing, Union will return home on Saturday to take on Muhlenberg College beginning at 1 p.m. at Frank Bailey Field at Bertagna-Class of 1985 Stadium.