GENEVA, N.Y. – The Union College men's soccer team's season came to a close on Saturday afternoon with a 1–0 loss to Hobart College in the Liberty League semifinals at Cozzens Field.

Hobart narrowly edged Union in shots on goal, 2–1, in the first half. The Statesmen recorded both of their chances in the opening two minutes. Senior goalkeeper Jacob Perry came up big early, first punching aside a low-left attempt from Hobart's Quinn Philips just over a minute into play, before diving to corral a high-left shot from Daniel Scali less than a minute later.

Union's best opportunity came in the eighth minute, when senior Grant Della Rocca fired a low-right shot off a free kick that was turned aside by Hobart goalkeeper Tommy Chyzowych.

Hobart sustained pressure in the second half, doubling its shots on net to four while holding Union without one. The Statesmen nearly broke through in the opening six minutes as Brady Leitner fired a shot toward the bottom right corner that Perry stopped. Leitner tested Perry again in the 65th minute with another low-right strike that was saved.

The breakthrough came with 15 minutes remaining in regulation, as Hobart's Gabe Smith controlled a forward pass from Scali and chipped it over Perry for the game-winning goal, sending the Statesmen to the Liberty League championship match.

Despite the loss, Union closes the season with a 7-6-5 record and its best Liberty League finish in over a decade. The Garnet Chargers advanced to the semifinals for the first time since 2009 and recorded their fewest regular-season losses since 2015. Under first-year head coach John Ciano, Union dropped only one conference match all season and posted one of the league's top defensive records, allowing just 17 goals in 18 matches.