SCHENECTADY, N.Y. – The Union College men's lacrosse team outscored Muhlenberg College by a 7-1 margin after halftime to break open a close game and earn its first victory of the 2026 season with a 12-5 non-conference win on Saturday afternoon at Frank Bailey Field at Bertagna-Class of 1985 Stadium.
 
Senior Walker Popko led the offensive charge for Union (1-5) with a game-high four goals, followed by the first career three-goal game for sophomore Mac McGovern and the first multi-goal outing of the season for first-year Hayden Caulkins. First-year Garrett Salit also had three points with a trio of assists and senior LSM John Sula recorded his first career multi-point game with a goal and an assist.
 
Senior Luke Tranter came up big at the faceoff X by winning 14-of-20 draws with a game-high 10 ground balls, while junior Nick Lynch made 12 of his 15 saves in the second half to keep his team ahead.
 
Union outshot Muhlenberg (2-4) by a 14-5 margin in the first quarter, but only ended the frame with a slight 2-1 advantage. McGovern got the scoring started 4:01 into the contest with an unassisted tally, but Union had three turnovers and three shots saved on its next six possessions and the Mules tied the score with 5:17 left. Sula energized the crowd by putting the home team back in front with his first of the year exactly three minutes later.
 
Popko singlehandedly carried Union along in the second stanza, scoring three straight tallies in a span of 5:07 to give the Garnet Chargers a lead they would never relinquish at 5-2.
 
Muhlenberg got back within a goal with the final two tallies of the second quarter, but Union responded with six straight goals in the third and fourth frames to take control for good. Popko, McGovern and sophomore Brendan Powers scored the lone three goals of the third to bump the lead up to 8-4, followed by three goals in 79 seconds from McGovern, Caulkins and first-year Luke Allen early in the fourth.
 
Up by six with 10:38 remaining, Lynch shut the door with six saves over the final 10 minutes, allowing the Garnet Chargers to coast to their first win of the season.
 
Union finished the afternoon with a 50-36 edge in shots and a 38-31 edge in ground balls, while also doing an excellent job of staying at even strength with just one penalty taken.
 
Union will look to keep the momentum going on Wednesday with a non-conference matchup versus Trinity (Conn.) College set for a 4 p.m. start in Schenectady.