ITHACA, N.Y. – The No. 17/18 ranked Ithaca College men's lacrosse team fell, 10-4, to Union College in a Liberty League semifinal matchup on Friday.
The opening quarter featured a back-and-forth start, with Union breaking through just under 10 minutes into the contest to score the game's first goal. After winning the ensuing faceoff, the Garnet Chargers added a second tally with Luke Allen finding the back of the net with 12 seconds remaining in the period to take a 2-0 lead after one.
Union continued to build momentum early in the second quarter, extending its advantage to 4-0 within the first five minutes. Following another stretch of back-and-forth play, Union netted its fifth goal of the game on an unassisted Walker Popko effort. Ithaca answered with 5:58 left in the half when
Will Kleine found the back of the net to make it 5-1. The Bombers added two late goals in the final minute, as
Ethan Adrid scored with 56 seconds remaining before
Tim Rogers connected with
Brendan Occhino with one second left on the clock, cutting the deficit to 5-3 at halftime.
The second half opened much like the first, with Union striking first. The Garnet Chargers added another goal with 10:22 remaining in the third quarter, which stood as the final scoring play of the period on Luke Allen's assist to Mike Wall.
Union opened the fourth quarter with its eighth goal, before Ithaca responded as
Will Kleine recorded his second tally of the game off an assist from Rogers. Union closed out the contest with two unanswered goals, securing a 10-4 victory.
Jace Dockx anchored the defensive effort with three caused turnovers and three ground balls, while goalkeeper
Andrew Minard recorded 13 saves and scooped up three ground balls.
The loss drops the Bombers to 11-6 overall as they will now wait and see if they receive an at-large bid into NCAA Division III Men's Lacrosse Championship. The championship field will be revealed in a selection show on Sunday, May 3 at 9 p.m. on
NCAA.com.
