Box Score
Box Score
SCHENECTADY, N.Y. – In a winner-takes-all bout, the Union men's lacrosse team prevailed 8-5 over Rensselaer to clinch the final spot in the 2009 Liberty League Championship Tournament. The Red Hawks fall to 5-8 overall and 3-3 in the league. The Dutchmen, who earned the fourth seed in the four-team conference tournament, improves to 7-6 and 3-3.
RPI was paced by three goals from senior
Josh Secora (Evergreen, CO/Golden) and two goals from freshman
Andrew Miller (New Hartford, NY/New Harford). Senior
Ryan DeJordy (Albany, NY/Columbia) made 12 stops.
Union was led by junior Christopher Jacobson (Northborough, MA/St. John's), who posted a goal and two assists. The Dutchmen had eight different goal contributors. Between the pipes, senior Christopher Keniath (Wilbraham, MA/Minnechaug Regional) earned his sixth win of the year with 15 stops.
The first half saw the goalies and the defenses shine with only four goals between the two teams. Union tallied the only first quarter goal at 4:42 when senior Matthew Douthlas (New York, NY/The Hotchkiss School) found the back of the net for his fifth of the season.
RPI answered at the 7:44 mark of the second when Secora scored, but Union responded with goals at 3:24 and 1:58. Sophomore Brendan Kinnane (Little Compton, RI/Portsmouth Abbey) had the first and junior Charles Hovsepian (Hingham, MA/Hingham) followed with the second.
The back-to-back goals sparked a six-goal run for the Union, which saw goals from Ted McKenna (Westford, MA/Philips Exeter Academy), Jacobson, Will Mahony (Sandy Hook, CT/Newtown) and Peter Kennedy (Needham, MA/Northfield Mouth Hermon) in the opening five minutes of the third quarter.
RPI mounted a comeback with two goals in the last third of the quarter - one each by Secora and Miller - to move the score to 7-3.
After Union's leading scorer Andrew Higgins (Wrentham, MA/Berkshire School) posted his 28th goal of the year, unassisted at 13:32 of the fourth quarter, Rensselaer got the final two goals, again from Miller (5:32) and Secora (1:12).
The Red Hawks controlled the shot battle, 33-30, but Union had the advantage in ground balls, 48-36, and faceoffs, 14-of-17.
Rensselaer concludes the season on Monday night when it hosts SUNY Cobleskill at 7pm at Harkness Field.
