MIDDLEBURY, Vt. – The Union College men's lacrosse team led for almost the entirety of regulation, but a Patrick Jamin goal 2:04 into overtime allowed #18/16 Middlebury College to escape with a 12-11 (OT) victory on Tuesday afternoon at Alumni Stadium.
 
Sophomore Mekhi Taylor tied Jamin for the game-high with a career-best three goals, while senior Archie McEvoy registered two goals and two assists to match Jamin for the game-high in points. Junior Walker Popko added two goals and a helper for Union (1-4) while four other Garnet Chargers had one goal apiece.
 
At the other end, sophomore Nick Lynch had another excellent game in goal, making 21 saves for the second straight outing and marking the first since Rob Oram '07 in 2004 that a Union goalie made 20 or more saves in back-to-back starts.
 
Jamin scored three goals with an assist and Nick Marvin scored three times as well for Middlebury (1-3).
 
Union was outshot by a 12-5 margin in the opening frame, but seven saves by Lynch and goals by Taylor and senior Peter Kip kept the score knotted at two after 15 minutes. The teams continued to alternate goals in the second, with McEvoy and Popko giving Union two more one-goal leads before Middlebury scored a pair to take its first lead. The advantage lasted only 32 seconds, however, as first-year Finbar Holland netted his second of the year and the teams went into halftime tied at five. Lynch added eight more saves in the second to keep the visitors in the game.
 
Taylor scored on the opening possession of the third quarter and McEvoy found the net again less than three minutes later to put the visitors up by two. A goal by junior Emmett Lyne helped Union remain in the lead until a Jamin strike with 1:28 left tied the score after 45 minutes. Union again regained a two-goal lead on goals by Popko and senior Hazen Pike in the opening 3:26 of the fourth, but Middlebury scored three in a row to take back the lead at 11-10 with under four minutes left. Following turnovers by both teams, Union called a timeout with 2:30 left and Taylor scored his sixth of the year to knot the score for the eighth and final time at 11 apiece.
 
Middlebury's Hayden Kern made two huge saves in the final minute to keep the game tied and send it to overtime. Both teams turned the ball over on their first possession of the extra session before Jamin scored in transition to give the Panthers the win.
 
Union will continue its challenging non-conference slate with a matchup at #9 Stevens Institute of Technology on Saturday at noon in Hoboken.