Box Score

SCHENECTADY, N.Y. – Sophomore Lincoln Field (Warren, NH/Hopkinton) earned Most Outstanding Player honors after scoring at the 75:38 mark to break a scoreless tie and lead Rensselaer to a 2-1 victory over Union College in the championship game of the 2007 Division III ECAC Upstate Tournament. The Red Hawks, who earned their second ECAC title in three years, conclude their season with a 10-6-4 record. The Dutchmen finish the season 13-4-4.

After a scoreless first half, which saw Union outshoot RPI, 7-2, Field finally put the Red Hawks on the scoreboard with his goal. Off a corner kick by Aaron Gundle (Portland, OR/Lincoln), Field found the ball in traffic and sent a low kick past the reach of Union goalie Rob Kramer (Westport, CT/Staples) for the 1-0 advantage.

Senior Gary Sroka (Liverpool, NY/Liverpool), the Liberty League Player of the Year, made it a two-goal advantage for Rensselaer at the 83:15 mark. Dribbling the ball down the right side of the field, Gundle sent the ball into the middle, splitting the Dutchmen’ defense. The ball rolled to Sroka, who put the shot past Kramer for the goal.

Union made it a 2-1 game with just 10:26 remaining after capitalizing on a miscue in front of the RPI net for an own goal. Despite several attempts to score the equalizer, the Dutchmen were unable to overcome the RPI defense which held solid in the closing seconds to preserve the win.

RPI, which won the ECAC Upstate Championship in 2005, saw freshman netminder Alex Penny (Northport, NY/Northport) make seven stops to improve his personal record to 8-3-2. Kramer also had seven saves in the loss for Union.