SCHENECTADY, N.Y. – #1 Tufts University scored nine straight goals over the second and third quarters to break the game open as the defending national champions dealt Union College a 20-10 defeat in non-conference men's lacrosse action on Tuesday evening at Frank Bailey Field at Bertagna-Class of 1985 Stadium.
 
Junior Walker Popko led Union (3-5) with four goals and an assist for five points, followed by sophomore Mike Wall with two goals and an assist. Senior Hazen Pike and junior Emmett Lyne scored once each, as did sophomores Joe Hennessey and Jack Duncan, the latter two's first collegiate tallies.
 
Brooks Hauser recorded a game-high five goals and six points to lead a Tufts (7-0) attack that saw 13 different players score at least once.
 
After more than five minutes of scoreless action that saw sophomore Nick Lynch make a pair of saves, Hauser broke the ice 5:24 into the contest with his first of the night. Tufts scored the next three goals to take a 4-0 lead and looked to run away with the game, but Lynch came up with three huge stops and Union stormed back with three goals in under a minute to get back into the contest. Wall scored the first with 1:48 left off a pass from first-year Bo Bensley for the rookie's first collegiate point. Popko made it a 4-2 game with 57 seconds left and senior Luke McHugh then won the subsequent draw cleanly and went right to goal before dishing off to Wall for a putaway just seven seconds later. The momentum only lasted 36 seconds, however, before Tufts scored again to take a 5-3 lead after one quarter.
 
After the teams traded goals in the opening three minutes of the second stanza, Tufts made its move by scoring five straight to end the period, with Lynch making five saves to keep his team in the game. Despite that effort, the Jumbos added four more goals in the first 3:29 of the third quarter to build up a 15-4 advantage.
 
The home team scored the final goal of the third and the first three of the fourth to get back within seven at 16-9 with 8:57 left after Duncan's first collegiate tally. But Tufts scored the next three before Hennessey scored an impressive goal while Union was down two players to get the Garnet Chargers into double digits in the final minute.
 
Lynch played well in goal for Union, making 10 saves in the first half and 14 over three quarters before first-year Thomas D'Angelo took over for the fourth, making four stops on eight shots. Tufts finished the evening with a 60-36 edge in shots and a 48-31 advantage in ground balls.
 
Union will turn its attention back to Liberty League play for the remainder of the regular season, beginning on Saturday with a key matchup against St. Lawrence University set for 3 p.m. at Frank Bailey Field.