SCHENECTADY, NY – In a winner-take-all bout against Rensselaer (5-8, 3-3), the Union College men's lacrosse team prevailed 8-5 and clinched the final spot in the 2009 Liberty League Championship Tournament. The Dutchmen (7-6, 3-3) enter next weekend as the fourth seed and will face top-seed and host school St. Lawrence on Friday.

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.

The Engineers were paced by three goals from senior Josh Secora (Evergreeen, CO/Golden) and two goals from freshman Andrew Miller (New Hartford, NY/New Harford).

Between the pipes, senior Christopher Keniath (Wilbraham, MA/Minnechaug Regional) earned his six win of the year with 15 stops, while at the other end senior Ryan DeJordy (Albany, NY/Columbia) made 12 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 his first goal of the game, 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.

With their playoff hopes slipping away, RPI mounted a comeback with two goals in the last third of the quarter 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 third.

RPI's last stand included goals from Miller (5:32) and Secora (1:12), but Union held on for the win and grabbed its ticket for the postseason.

The Engineers controlled the shot battle, 33-30, but Union had the advantage in groundballs, 48-36 and face-offs, 14 of 17.

2009-04-26