SCHENECTADY, NY (NEWS10) — It’s been an exciting week for the Union football team. On Saturday, they reclaimed the Dutchman Shoes by beating RPI. On Sunday, they were selected to the NCAA playoffs. Now they turn excitement into focus.

The 9-1 Garnet Chargers now head to Delaware Valley to take on the 9-1 Aggies in the first round. The last time Union made it to the NCAA championships was in 2019. A lot of the seniors on this year’s squad were freshman on that team. It was their mission to get back there, creating the perfect bookend to their careers. “I think it was a goal of seniors,” said head coach John Poppe. “Their last hoorah, how to go out in a special, special way. It’s the 13th time Union has been to the playoffs. So it’s happened but it hasn’t been tradition, let’s call it that. These seniors got a chance to do that. The biggest thing on my goal list was to get the shoes back. That was a big accomplishment to go out that way on Frank Bailey Field and now we get to play a little longer.”

Kickoff Saturday is set for noon.