SCHENECTADY, N.Y. -- With 1:33 left in the second overtime period, Jonathan Andrews found the back of the net to lead seventh-ranked Union (N.Y.) to a 12-11 win against Rensselaer in Liberty League action Saturday at Frank Bailey Field. With the win Union improved to 10-1 on the season and 3-0 in Liberty League play while Rensselaer fell to 7-4 overall, with a 3-2 mark in Liberty League action.
It was a game of runs, as Union came back from multiple-goal deficits. Rensselaer scored four consecutive goals to end the third period and start the fourth, holding an 11-8 lead with 12:12 left to play. Union responded with three consecutive tallies to tie the game at 11 at the end of regulation. Both teams had missed opportunities in the first overtime period, before Andrews took an assist from Rob Santangelo to seal up the win.
Rensselaer scored first in the game, as Breanainn McNeally got the Engineers on the board with an unassisted score at 5:26. The Dutchmen answered two minutes later with a goal from Sean Hanley. The Engineers ended the first quarter with back-to-back goals from Mike Hicks and Chaz Bell.
Union pulled back to within one, 3-2, just 11 seconds into the second quarter, getting a goal from Charlie Ross. Rensselaer then took a four-goal lead with three consecutive scores. Pat Hogan scored at 13:25, while McNeally netted his 27th of the season at 12:42. Matt Hall ended the run with an unassisted tally at 11:46. Union powered back to score five consecutive goals to end the half, ending with Tom Stanton's tally with less than a second left on the clock, giving the Dutchmen a 7-6 advantage at the half.
T.J. Tynan won the face-off to start the third period and immediately scored while the Engineers were a man-down to tie the game at 7. Pat DeBenedetto answered to put the Dutchmen back on top, but Rensselaer rattled off four in a row to take an 11-8 lead. Pat Finn and McNeally scored at the end of the third, while Casey Colligan took an assist from Finn to start the fourth. McNeally netted his fourth of the day with 12:12 left to play to give the Engineers a three-goal advantage. Union embarked on its next run thanks to tallies by Quinn, Nolan Stauffer and Adam Rosenthal to tie the game at the end of regulation.
Rensselaer outshot the Dutchmen 45-44 and held a 36-30 advantage in ground balls. Dutchmen goalkeeper Stefan Basile finished with 17 saves to pick up his 10th win of the season.
