ROCHESTER, N.Y. – The fourth-seeded Union College men's lacrosse team was bounced from the Liberty League Tournament with a 26-9 semifinal defeat to top-seeded and #2 Rochester Institute of Technology on Friday afternoon at Tiger Stadium.
 
Senior Peter Kip scored a team-high three goals for Union (12-5), followed by classmate Nolan Flood with a career-high two goals. Seniors Michael Shaw and Liam McGovern, and sophomores Hazen Pike and Matt McKenzie also scored for the visitors.
 
Clifford Gaston led RIT (17-1) with a game-high seven points on four goals and three assists, followed by Luke Pilcher with three goals and two helpers.
 
The Garnet Chargers got off to a bad start on Friday and never recovered, as the Tigers outscored Union by a 10-2 margin over the opening 15 minutes. Kip and Shaw scored to bring Union within a goal at 3-2 with 8:51 left in the opening frame, but RIT rattled off seven straight goals to take a commanding advantage.
 
The home team scored the first two goals of the second stanza to build up a 12-2 lead before the Garnet Chargers scored three of the period's final four goals to get within eight at 13-5 at the half. RIT then outscored Union 8-2 in the third quarter to put the game away early.
 
The Tigers ended the day with a 59-28 edge in shots, but Union kept the nation's top man-up offense off the scoreboard in two attempts. Senior Dan Donahue and first-year Nick Lynch both made seven saves in goal for the visitors.
 
Union will hope to have its season extended when the NCAA Division III Tournament field is announced on Sunday at 9 p.m. on NCAA.com.