SCHENECTADY, N.Y. – First-year Gillian Joseph led all players with four goals and five points to pace the Union College women's lacrosse team to a 13-8 victory over the University of Rochester in Saturday's regular-season finale at Frank Bailey Field at Bertagna-Class of 1985 Stadium.
 
With the win, Union (10-5, 8-2 Liberty League), which had already clinched the third seed in the postseason, earns itself a return engagement with Rochester (9-8, 5-5 Liberty League) on Tuesday in the first round of the Liberty League Tournament. Game time is set for 7 p.m. in Schenectady.
 
Joseph was one of three players to record at least three points on the day. Junior Greta Maurer recorded three goals and an assist to go with two ground balls and a game-high six draw controls, while senior Anna Smith had two goals and a helper. Senior Dana Nelson also contributed a goal, four draw controls, three ground balls and two caused turnovers in a well-rounded effort.
 
On the defensive end, senior Hannah Dubinsky made five saves to earn her third win of the season. Sophomore Lana Mickelson and senior Ella Trout both chipped in three ground balls and three caused turnovers apiece, while sophomore Sammy Johnson added two ground balls and two caused turnovers.
 
After Rochester opened the scoring 1:29 into the contest, Union came back with four straight goals to take a lead the home team would never relinquish. Maurer evened the scoring with 11:49 left in the first quarter, followed by unassisted tallies from Smith and Joseph. Mickelson completed the run by converting a feed from senior Audrey Larson for a player-up score with 5:17 on the clock. After two UR goals lowered the deficit to one, Maurer made it a 5-3 game after 15 minutes with her second of the day.
 
The second stanza was the lowest scoring of the afternoon. After Alyssa Gorny got the Yellow Jackets back within one, goals from Nelson and Joseph in the final 3:27 put Union up 7-4 at the half. Both teams then scored three times in the third frame as the Garnet Chargers took a 10-7 lead into the fourth.
 
Rochester outshot Union 7-6 in the final period, but Dubinsky made four clutch saves to keep UR off the scoreboard for nearly 14 minutes while the offense extended the lead. Joseph scored twice and first-year Maddy Schiller provided the final goal to build up the game's largest lead at 13-7 before a late Rochester tally.
 
Union finished the game with a 31-20 edge in shots and also was very active on the defensive end, causing 14 of Rochester's 19 turnovers.
 
Check UnionAthletics.com early next week for more information and a full preview of Tuesday's Liberty League Tournament first-round matchup.