Union College men's lacrosse: Garnet Chargers lean on experience, ready to welcome Stevenson to NCAAs

The same goes for the Union College men’s lacrosse team, which qualified for the NCAA Division III men’s lacrosse tournament for the third straight year under remarkably similar circumstances. The Garnet Chargers, ranked ninth and 12th in both national polls, will host Stevenson at 3 p.m. Saturday in a second-round game at Frank Bailey Field.

In the other pod game at Union, Illinois Wesleyan takes on Tufts at noon. The winners of both matches will meet in a third round on Sunday at 3 p.m.

Two seasons ago, Union was coming off a crushing 15-9 loss to St. Lawrence in the quarterfinals of the Liberty League tournament, but still had a good enough job hosting second- and third-round games. He rode all the way to the championship match before losing to arch-enemy RIT.

Last year, Union lost to RIT 18-9 in the semifinals of the league tournament, but was able to host again.

This year’s Garnet Chargers (12-5) — featuring plenty of upperclassmen from the previous two teams — are coming off a brutal 26-9 loss to RIT in the league tournament semifinals, but can welcome into Frank’s friendly confines. Bailey Field, where they are 7-0 this season.

“We’re all very excited, especially with the opportunity to host and play at Bailey Field, which I think a lot of people are more comfortable in. We’re 7 and 0, the stats speak for themselves,” said senior Matthew Paolatto, a first-team Liberty League faceoff specialist.

Last year, the Union played Western New England – as they also did the year before – and won 15-13 before losing to Middlebury 19-10 on Sunday .

“Last year we learned to have goldfish memory and forget (RIT’s semifinal loss), especially with what happened last Friday against them,” Paolatto said. “Many parallels can be drawn, but I think ultimately we know there’s a lot we can learn from this, including going back to basics and staying focused.”

Senior guard Dan Donahue said the team knows what to tighten up against Stevenson.

“It’s a team effort,” Donahue said. “Going down to RIT, I dropped a few quick goals, got a little nervous. I think we’re a team that, when we play together, we’re great defensively. I think we need to make enough stops to give the offense a chance to put the ball in the back of the net. I think we failed last weekend.

Union has never faced Stevenson (13-6) before. The Mustangs won the MAC Commonwealth Tournament last weekend with a 21-3 win over Eastern, bringing their production to 17 goals per game. Grant Zick leads the way with 35 goals and 44 assists, while Max Racich has 50 goals and 22 assists. Stevenson’s offense scores 55.2 percent of the time, second best in Division III.

The Union countered with a balanced offensive attack, with seven double-digit scorers and nine players in double-digits for points, and all of them and a few others proved they could step up when the moment called for it. Peter Kip leads the way with 44 goals and 21 assists. Additionally, the Garnet Chargers’ offense is hitting 48.9 percent, ninth in Division III.

Defensively, the Union is led by Liberty League first-teamers John Sula in defense and Patrick Reilly in short midfield.

Union coach Derek Witheford said it was a unique opportunity for his players to host an NCAA game.

“It’s a testament to their leadership,” he said. “Hopefully these (older) guys teach these (younger) guys how to play in the NCAAs, because back-to-back games are a different animal. We can draw on some of our experiences that we have had with this group. I hope this is invaluable.

“What we need to do is worry about Saturday,” Witheford added. “Because if we don’t take care of business on Saturday, we won’t be able to play on Sunday. All our eggs are in Stevenson’s basket, and they are a worthy opponent.

ALL AMERICANS NAMED

USA Lacrosse released its Division III All-Americans on Friday and Paolatto made the first team. Sula made the second team, while midfielders Zach Davis, Reilly and Donahue made honorable mention.

RPI midfielder Luke Murphy made the first team; defenseman Caleb Oswari and goalie Joseph Perry made the second team; and long-stick midfielder Ty Stanek and faceoff specialist Angelo Venuto made honorable mention. The Engineers (16-2) host St. Mary’s (Md.) in the second round today.

As for the Union group, Tufts midfielder Jack Regnery and defender Joey Waldbaum made the first team; Stevenson defenseman Ryan Quinn made the second team; Tufts midfielder Brooks Hauser made the third team; and Tufts midfielder Charlie Tagliaferi and Zick of Stevenson made honorable mention.