TROY, N.Y. – Senior Walker Popko and first-year Garrett Salit scored a game-high three goals apiece – including two each in a decisive second half – to lead the Union College men's lacrosse team to a big 13-7 win over rival Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Liberty League action on Saturday afternoon at ECAV Field.
 
Five different players had three points each in a well-rounded effort for Union (2-9, 1-1 Liberty League). In addition to Popko and Salit, junior Mekhi Taylor and first-year Luke Allen registered two goals and an assist each, while senior Emmett Lyne chipped in a goal and two helpers.
 
Faceoff play was huge for the visitors in the win as well, as senior Luke Tranter went 19-for-24 on the draw with a game-high nine ground balls and senior John Sula vacuumed up eight grounders and forced one turnover. As a team, Union held a decisive 49-23 edge in ground balls.
 
Union jumped out to a 3-1 lead at the end of the first quarter, getting four saves from junior Nick Lynch and tallies by Popko, Lyne and Taylor to open up a two-goal edge after 15 minutes. The visitors outshot the Engineers by a 16-9 margin in the second stanza, but RPI outscored Union 4-2 to knot the score at five headed into halftime.
 
The home team scored the first goal of the third quarter, but the rest of the game was almost all Union. The Garnet Chargers netted the final five tallies of the period to take a 10-6 lead after 45 minutes, and then closed out the game with a 3-1 fourth frame to finish off their first conference win of the season. Taylor and Allen scored less than a minute apart to start the run, followed by three goals in 2:28 from Salit, Popko and sophomore Mac McGovern later in the period.
 
Junior Tyler Robbins punctuated the fourth quarter with his first collegiate tally to immediately counter RPI's lone tally with 10:26 left before Salit salted the game away a few minutes later.
 
Lynch had four saves in the first and fourth quarters to finish the game with 12 stops, while RPI's Jake Lunati made 14 saves. Union finished the afternoon with a 43-38 edge in shots overall.
 
Union will return to action on Tuesday with its non-conference finale against the U.S. Coast Guard Academy beginning at 6 p.m. in New London, Conn.