SCHENECTADY, N.Y. – Senior Peter Kip scored all four of his goals during a game-ending 7-2 run as the fourth-seeded and #9/8 Union College men's lacrosse team got past fifth-seeded Clarkson University by a 12-9 score in the first round of the Liberty League Tournament on a rainy Tuesday evening at Frank Bailey Field at Bertagna-Class of 1985 Stadium.
 
With the win, Union (12-4) advances to the Liberty League Tournament semifinals, where the Garnet Chargers will take on top-seeded and #2 Rochester Institute of Technology on Friday at 4 p.m. in Rochester. Tuesday's game was delayed nearly three hours due to bad weather in the area.
 
After a slow start, Kip came on strong to lead all players with four goals and five points, while classmate Jake Mabardy did all of his damage in the first quarter with three goals. Fellow senior Michael Shaw had two goals and an assist and sophomore Emmett Lyne added a goal and two helpers for the home team as well.
 
The game started well for Union, as three Mabardy tallies and one from sophomore Archie McEvoy gave the home team a 4-1 lead early in the second quarter. However, Clarkson scored the final two goals of the second quarter to get back within one and then used a 4-1 run of its own in the third to take its largest lead of the day at 7-5 with 3:22 remaining.
 
The lead did not last long, however, as Union erupted for four goals in 60 seconds to suddenly take back the advantage. Kip started the run off a feed from Shaw with 2:13 on the clock, followed by Lyne depositing a Matt McKenzie pass to tie the score at seven with 1:32 remaining. Sophomore Matthew Paolatto won the subsequent draw clean before finding Kip for a goal a mere six seconds later, and then it took just 13 seconds for Paolatto to dish the ball to sophomore John Sula, who found Shaw for a put away at the 1:13 mark.
 
Junior Matt Blasi continued the run with the opening goal of the fourth quarter to open up a 10-7 lead. Clarkson scored twice in less than a minute to get back within a goal, but the defense held strong after that and Kip sealed the win with a pair of tallies in the final 3:31 of the game.
 
Paolatto had another phenomenal game at the faceoff spot for Union, winning 20-of-25 draws and grabbing 13 ground balls. Classmate Dan Donahue kept Union in the game with several huge first-half stops, finishing the night with 11 saves as the Garnet Chargers posted a 42-34 edge in shots.
 
Check UnionAthletics.com later this week for a preview of the conference semifinals as the Garnet Chargers head back to Rochester to face the Tigers for the second time in a week.