SCHENECTADY, N.Y. – The Union College women's lacrosse team could not overcome Rochester Institute of Technology's huge edge in the draw circle as the Garnet Chargers dropped a tough 15-12 matchup to the Tigers in Liberty League action on Saturday afternoon at Frank Bailey Field at Bertagna-Class of 1985 Stadium.
 
Sophomore Gillian Joseph had a team-leading three goals for Union (4-2, 0-2 Liberty League), and was joined with three points by junior Lana Mickelson and sophomore Maddy Schiller with two goals and an assist each. Morgan Nichter led RIT (6-2, 2-1 Liberty League) with a game-high five goals and Zoe Heffernan chipped in two goals and three assists for the visitors.
 
The Tigers dominated play in the draw circle, winning 24-of-29 draws to limit Union's offensive possessions and counteract the team's 18 turnovers.
 
Maurer controlled the opening draw and eventually found the net 1:31 into the game, and Joseph followed 70 seconds later to put the home team up by a pair. Goals by Maurer and sophomore Hannah Compa kept the game tied at four later in the period before RIT scored twice from the eight-meter arc in the final minute to take a 6-4 lead after 15 minutes.
 
After RIT scored the first goal of the second stanza, the Garnet Chargers came back with their best run of the day, scoring five of the next six goals to take a 9-8 lead. Schiller started the run 2:29 into the period and junior Sammy Johnson followed with her first collegiate tally, taking the ball the length of the field to earn a free-position attempt that she buried with 9:33 on the clock. After the Tigers regained the lead soon after, Joseph scored twice in less than a minute and Mickelson added her first of the day to put Union up 9-8 before RIT knotted the score after 30 minutes.
 
After RIT scored twice to start the third, goals from Mickelson and Schiller tied the score at 11 and junior Maddie Doyle found the net early in the fourth frame to make the score 12-all with 12:49 remaining. However, Nichter scored her fifth less than a minute later and Union could not find the net the rest of the way.
 
Both goalies made big stops down the stretch, as RIT's Grace McDonald stopped three shots to keep her team ahead and first-year Sierra Harris made three saves to keep her squad within striking distance. McDonald finished the game with 12 saves, while Harris made three saves in the fourth quarter in relief of junior Sydney Widlitz, who recorded four stops over the first three quarters.
 
Union will return to action on Wednesday with a Liberty League matchup at Bard College beginning at 6 p.m.