SCHENECTADY, N.Y. (NEWS10) — Juniors Michael Shaw and Zach Davis combined for 10 goals to lead the No. 5 Union College men’s lacrosse team to a decisive 12-6 victory over No. 7 St. Lawrence University in the Liberty League opener for both teams on a rainy Saturday afternoon at Frank Bailey Field at Bertagna-Class of 1985 Stadium.

The junior tandem had huge games for Union (5-1, 1-0 Liberty League), playing a role in 11 of the team’s 12 goals. Shaw recorded a career-high seven points on five goals and two assists, while Davis found the net a career-best five times as well. Senior Jake Titus and junior Jake Mabardy also both scored for the home team, while junior Peter Kip dished out three assists.
 
Junior Matthew Paolatto had another excellent day at the X for Union, winning 13-of-16 faceoffs and grabbing a game-high six ground balls. Sophomore Seamus Foley led the defensive unit with two ground balls and a pair of caused turnovers, and junior Dan Donahue stood tall in goal with 12 saves.
 
Union got off to a hot start on a rainy and cold Saturday afternoon, scoring the first three goals of the game to put St. Lawrence (6-1, 0-1 Liberty League) on their heels early. Davis scored on the opening possession off a feed from first-year Emmett Lyne to open the scoring less than a minute in. Mabardy doubled the lead less than five minutes later, and Davis cashed in on a man-up chance to make it a 3-0 lead midway through the frame. After the Saints got on the board with 4:58 left, Shaw netted his second of the game with 1:12 on the clock to give Union a 4-1 lead after one quarter.
 
The home team had its last effective offensive quarter of the game in the second, with the team going more than 13 minutes without a goal. The defense held SLU off the board for nearly 10 minutes as well, but two goals in less than a minute made it a 4-3 game with 4:16 remaining until halftime. However, a timely save by Donahue and a caused turnover by senior Gray Humphrey eventually led to Davis’ third of the day to extend the lead back to two at the half. Union outshot St. Lawrence 26-16 over the opening 30 minutes, as Michael Marinello made 12 saves to keep the visitors in the contest.
 
The teams traded goals early in the third quarter, with tallies by Davis and Shaw helping to keep Union ahead by two goals. Shaw added another tally with 92 seconds left to make it an 8-5 game headed into the final frame.
 
A late SLU penalty gave Union possession to start the fourth and resulted in another Davis goal. That was followed soon after by a transition strike from Titus that opened up a 10-5 advantage with 12:13 remaining in the contest. After the Saints got one goal back, Shaw slammed the door shut with a pair of tallies off feeds from Kip to close out the scoring.
 
Thanks to a 15-of-21 effort at the X, Union finished the game with a 53-32 edge in shots and a 37-27 advantage in ground balls. The home team was 2-for-5 while man-up on the day and kept SLU off the board on one of their two man-up chances.
 
Union will continue its challenging midseason stretch on Tuesday when the team welcomes nationally ranked Tufts University to Frank Bailey Field for the first time for a 6 p.m. non-conference clash.