The victory, which put Union into the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament for the third time in program history, also improved the team’s record to 16-2, breaking a tie with the 2014 club for the most victories in a single season at Union. Saturday at 3 pm, Union will face Gettysburg College in the quarterfinals at Christopher Newport University.
Peter Burnes, a senior, continued his pattern of stepping up in crucial games by scoring a career-high seven goals and adding two assists for a total of nine points. In the first three quarters, the Liberty League Offensive Player of the Year outscored the Golden Bears 7-6 before the Dutchmen substituted several of the Golden Bears’ offensive players.
During Union’s victory, ten different players reached the back of the net, while fourteen players scored at least one point. Keaton McCann, a senior, scored three goals and provided an assist for four points, while Jack Donahue, Kieran McGovern, and Michael Shaw, all seniors, scored two goals apiece.
Zach Davis, a sophomore, opened the scoring 3:43 into the game with a goal assisted by Donahue. After that, Union’s quick-strike attack went to work, with Davis and senior Hayden Frey scoring seven seconds apart a minute after sophomore Matthew Paolatto won the draw cleanly and headed to goal. A few minutes later, McCann and Burnes scored within nine seconds of one another to make it 5-0 less than seven minutes into the game.
