Potsdam, NY - A cross-crease pass from Brendan Kinnane found Scott Garibaldi open on the other side and the sophomore's shot found the back of the net with just 40.3 seconds remaining as third-seeded Union College upset the second-seeded Clarkson University Men's Lacrosse team 8-7 in the opening round of the Liberty League Tournament Friday afternoon at Hantz Field.
The Golden Knights' loss sends them to 9-4 overall, while Union improved to 12-3 on the season. The Dutchmen will take on St. Lawrence in the Liberty League Championship at 12:00 noon on Sunday.
Most of the first half saw very few shots finding their way on net as Clarkson was up 3-2 at the half. A long possession by Clarkson in the opening minutes finally ended on a goal as Erik Hilfinger (Ann Arbor, MI) flung a shot from 25 feet over the right shoulder of Union goalie Chris Keinath. Union came back seven minutes later with a goal from Matt Douglas as he sprinted across the midfield with a shorter shot over the left shoulder of Clarkson goalie Greg Lamb (Baldwinsville, NY). It appeared as if Clarkson would take control of the contest in the second quarter, as the Knights scored twice in a span of just five seconds. Hilfinger tallied his second goal of the game at 13:36 as the Dutchmen were being sent down a man. A delay of game gave the Knights a quick start and Greg Gibbons (Baldwinsville, NY) capitalized on a pass from Tyler Long (Liverpool, NY) at 13:31. Union's Kinnane snuck in a shot around the post late in the period to cut the lead to 3-2.
The third period had a flurry of goals over the course the final eight minutes with the Dutchmen scoring five times in the final 7:56. Clarkson struck just twice in that same span and found itself down a pair of scores with just a quarter to go.
The Golden Knights slowly climbed back into the contest as Tom Ross (Adams, NY) scored on a man-up opportunity from Brian Hoey (Auburn, NY) at the 6:10 mark and Hoey tied the game with 2:41 left in the game when he flipped a shot in as he was pushed into the crease.
With just over a minute remaining, the Golden Knights called a timeout to set things up, but a turnover forced Clarkson on the defensive as the Dutchmen picked up the groundball and raced back into the offensive zone. A timeout by Union with 52 seconds left drew up what proved to be the game-winning goal when Kinnane came from behind the net on Lamb's left side and was quickly doubled. He sent a pass over the Clarkson defenders to Garibaldi on the right side and he threw the shot back over Lamb's left shoulder for the go-ahead goal. Clarkson gained possession and had a few opportunities but Greg Gibbons' final shot went wide and short of the net as the clock expired.
Gibbons scored two goals, including his 100th career score, and Hilfinger added in two goals, while Hoey led the team with three points on a goal and two assists. Ross and Cory Schneider (Yorktown, NY) also scored for Clarkson. Kinnane had three points on a goal and two assists and Garibaldi scored three times to lead Union.
Keinath made nine saves in the win for the Dutchmen and Lamb stopped 11 shots for Clarkson. The Dutchmen out shot Clarkson 31-25 and won 27 groundballs compared to 21 for the Knights.
