SCHENECTADY, N.Y. – The Union College men's lacrosse team dropped a tough 11-10 game to Springfield College in the team's 2025 home opener on a cold and windy Saturday afternoon at Frank Bailey Field at Bertagna-Class of 1985 Stadium.
 
Junior Walker Popko led Union (0-2) with four goals and was matched with four points by senior Hazen Pike, who scored once and added a team-best three assists. Senior Archie McEvoy and junior Emmett Lyne added two goals apiece for the Garnet Chargers as well. Defensively, sophomore John Sula picked up four ground balls and caused two turnovers while also scoring a goal, while senior Luke McHugh had a good day at the faceoff spot by winning 17-of-22 draws and grabbing a game-high 11 ground balls.
 
Kevin Tierney scored a game-high six goals to lead Springfield (1-2), while Michael Manning paced the defensive effort with two ground balls and three caused turnovers.
 
Sula opened the scoring 2:38 into the contest, but Springfield came back with the next four, getting a goal and three assists from Mason Nocito to take a 4-1 advantage with 3:36 left in the opening frame. The Garnet Chargers responded with a 4-0 run of their own to take back the lead, with Popko bookending goals by Pike and McEvoy. However, goals by Tierney and Matt Webb gave the Pride a 6-5 lead at halftime.
 
After Springfield scored the first goal of the third quarter, Lyne and Popko found the net 4:29 apart to even the score at seven midway through the frame. But the home team could not get back in front, as Tierney scored twice to put the visitors up 9-7 after three quarters and Gavin Carzello added the first goal of the fourth to take a 10-7 lead.
 
The momentum swung back toward Union soon after that, with Popko converting off a failed clear attempt and McEvoy taking a feed from sophomore Mekhi Taylor for a man-down goal less than a minute later to get back within a goal. But Tierney again provided some margin with his sixth of the game with 11:01 left. Union struggled to get good looks over the next 10 minutes, turning the ball over three times and having two shots stopped by Kaden Quirk.
 
First-year Thomas D'Angelo made three saves on one prolonged possession to keep the team in the game, and Lyne finally broke the scoreless stretch with 1:54 left to give the home team some life. McHugh won the subsequent faceoff to give Union a chance to tie, but Quick made a save in the final seconds to secure the win for the Pride.
 
Union finished the game with a 54-38 edge in shots, but 18 turnovers and several off-target attempts limited the team's chances offensively. D'Angelo made 12 saves for Union and Quirk stopped 13 shots for Springfield.
 
Union will return to action on Wednesday with a non-conference matchup against Williams College set for a 6:30 p.m. faceoff in Schenectady.