Union vs. Skidmore - Liberty League First Round

Tuesday, April 28, 2026 • Schenectady, N.Y. • Frank Bailey Field at Bertagna-Class of 1985 Stadium • 7:00 PM

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SCHENECTADY, N.Y. – After a one-year absence, the Union College men's lacrosse team is back in the Liberty League Tournament and the fourth-seeded Garnet Chargers begin postseason play on Tuesday with a first-round matchup against fifth seeded Skidmore College at 7 p.m. at Frank Bailey Field at Bertagna-Class of 1986 Stadium.
 
Union (6-11, 4-3 Liberty League) earned its spot in the postseason with a 15-5 win over Clarkson University on Saturday and will face off with fifth-seeded Skidmore (10-5, 3-4 Liberty League) in the lone first-round matchup. The winner of Tuesday's game advances to the semifinals at top-seeded Ithaca College, while second-seeded St. Lawrence University and third-seeded Rochester Institute of Technology face off in the other semi.

POSTSEASON HISTORY: Union is making its 16th postseason appearance in the last 18 years and is 9-14 all-time in Liberty League Tournament play, reaching the championship game on seven occasions (2008, 2011-12, 2014-15, 2019, 2023) and capturing one conference tournament title in 2011.
 
UNION VS. THE THOROUGHBREDS: Tuesday's game will be the 40th all-time meeting between the local rivals, with Union holding a 28-11 edge in the first 39 matchups. The teams have only met once in the postseason, with Skidmore taking a 10-6 victory in Schenectady in the 2010 conference semifinals. Union has won 11 of the last 13 meetings overall between the teams.
 
LAST MEETING: Union earned the fourth seed and a home game in part because of its 12-10 victory over then #15/20 Skidmore in Schenectady on April 15. First-year Luke Allen scored a season-high four goals and senior Walker Popko also had four points with three goals and an assist. The home team went into the fourth quarter with a two-goal lead and the squads alternated tallies for almost the entirety of the frame before back-to-back goals by Popko and senior Emmett Lyne provided the Garnet Chargers enough cushion to earn the win.
 
A TOUGH ROAD: Union's 2026 regular-season opponents had a combined winning percentage of .633 (157-91), ranking as the 13th-toughest schedule in Division III this season. Among Liberty League schools, only RIT and St. Lawrence had a higher combined opponents' winning percentage. Of Union's 11 losses this season, six have come by one goal and two more have been by two scores.
 
READY TO POP: Senior Walker Popko has put together an excellent two seasons in Schenectady since transferring from Stony Brook University, netting 78 goals with 25 assists for 103 points in just 31 games. He enters the postseason with 44 goals and 17 assists to his credit this season, ranking second in the conference in goals and tied for fourth in points. Popko already sits in a tie for eighth on the school single-season goals list, and with four more goals would vault all the way into sole possession of fourth place on the school single-season ledger.
 
SALIT IS ELITE: Four-time Liberty League Rookie of the Week Garrett Salit has made an immediate impact as a first-year, ranking second on the team in points with 26 goals and a team-leading 26 assists. He enters the postseason needing just one point to break a tie with Nate Fitch '93 HOF '13 and become the school's all-time points leader by a first-year. Salit is also one of just six Liberty League players (and only rookie) this season to record at least 25 goals and 25 assists.
 
ONE-TWO PUNCH: Salit and classmate Luke Allen are tied for second on the team with 26 goals apiece so far in their rookie seasons, both sitting just four goals away from moving into second place on the school single-season first-year goals list. Fitch holds that record as well, scoring 33 goals as a first-year in 1990.
 
LENDING A HAND: Union may rank seventh in the conference by averaging 11.24 goals per game, but the Garnet Chargers rank second among conference schools by dishing out an average of 7.35 assists per contest.
 
THE X FACTOR: Senior Luke Tranter leads all Liberty League players with 211 faceoff wins this season and has won 55.2 percent of his draws on the year while ranking fifth with 91 ground balls. He became just the third Union player to record at least 200 faceoff wins in a season, joining Matthew Paolatto '24 (2023, 2024) and Connor Hall '15 (2015).
  
ABOUT THE THOROUGHBREDS: Skidmore has been ranked as high as 15th nationally this season and is returning to the postseason for a second straight season. The offense runs through Michael Aiello, who leads the Liberty League with 34 assists and has scored 30 goals for a conference-best 4.57 points per game. He is matched with 30 goals by Joseph Kilcommons, who is the conference's only rookie to have more goals than Salit and Allen this year. The defensive trio of Jude Avelino Jr., Ethan Dicturel and Michael Dearborn all have at least 34 ground balls and 24 caused turnovers to their credit this season, while Marc Gadbois has started every game in goal with a 9.51 goals against average and .514 save percentage. As a team, Skidmore ranks 27th nationally by averaging 11.8 caused turnovers per outing.
 
WHAT'S NEXT: The winner of Tuesday's game will advance to the Liberty League Tournament semifinals at top-seeded Ithaca College on Friday.
 
2026 Liberty League Men's Lacrosse Tournament
 
First Round – Tuesday, April 28
#5 Skidmore College at #4 Union College, 7:00 p.m.
 
Semifinals – Friday, May 1 (all games at higher seeds)
#4 Union/#5 Skidmore at #1 Ithaca, TBA
#3 RIT at #2 St. Lawrence, TBA
 
Championship – Sunday, May 3 (at higher seed)
Two Remaining Teams, TBA