SCHENECTADY, N.Y. – The Union College men's lacrosse team suffered another heartbreaker on Saturday afternoon, as the Garnet Chargers built up a five-goal lead in the third quarter only to see #7/9 Stevens Institute of Technology score seven of the game's final eight goals, with the last coming 1:52 into overtime to give the Ducks a 11-10 (OT) victory.
 
First-year Garrett Salit led all players with a game-high five points, scoring three goals and adding two assists to play a role in half of the Garnet Chargers' tallies on the day. Senior Walker Popko and sophomore Mac McGovern both had two goals each as well for Union (1-7), while junior Mekhi Taylor and first-year Luke Allen had a goal and an assist each and first-year Hayden Caulkins added a goal.
 
Senior John Sula continued his strong early-season play with a game-high nine ground balls and three caused turnovers, and junior Nick Lynch made 13 saves in goal for the home team.
 
As has been the story many times this season, Union came out strong and took the play to the nationally ranked Ducks. Salit scored the game's first goal while man-down midway through the opening frame, then scored again less than three minutes later to double the lead. After Stevens (5-0) got on the board, another Salit score and a Popko tally gave the home team a 4-1 lead after one period, a frame that saw Union outshoot Stevens by a 16-7 margin.
 
The Ducks made a push in the second stanza, scoring three of the first four goals to get back within one at 5-4, but goals from Popko and Allen pushed the margin back up to three headed into halftime.
 
The Garnet Chargers continued to push forward early in the third period, with back-to-back McGovern strikes giving Union its largest lead of the game at 9-4 at the midway point of the frame. Despite a pair of Stevens goals later in the period, Union still held a 9-6 lead after 45 minutes.
 
The visitors upped the offensive pressure in the fourth, outshooting Union by a 14-5 margin. Caulkins scored a man-up goal to keep the home team up 10-7 with 10:27 on the clock, but Stevens netted a pair in less than two minutes to get back within a goal with 7:55 remaining. Both goalies made two saves to keep it a one-goal game before the Ducks knotted the score at 10 with 3:36 left. Union had a chance to win the game at the buzzer after a big save by Lynch kept the game tied, but a shot on the final possession went wide and the game went to overtime.
 
Union nearly won the game in the opening seconds of overtime, as the Garnet Chargers forced a turnover off the faceoff and Popko had a great chance that was denied by Stevens keeper Michael Jannotte. After a clear and timeout, Jackson Penn got the ball past Lynch on the next possession to win the game for the Ducks.
 
Union finished the game with the edge in most categories, including a 40-36 edge in shots and a 14-10 advantage at the faceoff dot, while also going 2-for-3 while man-up and holding Stevens scoreless on three man-up opportunities. Lynch finished the day with 13 saves while Jannotte had 16 stops for the visitors.
 
Union will be back in action next Saturday with the team's Liberty League opener at St. Lawrence University beginning at noon in the North Country.