Schenectady, NY - Thanks in large part to a 37-25 advantage in groundballs and a strong defensive effort, the Clarkson University Men's Lacrosse team allowed only one goal in the final 35 minutes and came from behind to claim a 8-6 Liberty League win over Union College Saturday afternoon.

The Golden Knights improved to 7-3 overall and 2-1 in the Liberty League with the victory, while Union fell to 5-4 and 0-2. The Golden Knights will play at St. Lawrence on Wednesday before returning home for a match up against Skidmore College next Saturday.

The Dutchmen opened the game with two goals in the first five minutes and the Knights rallied to tie the score at 2-2 before the end of the first quarter, but Union rattled off three more goals to start the second period. However, the Knights defense would bottle up the Union offense the rest of the way, allowing only one score in the final 35:59 of the game. Senior Brendon Shearin (Goffstown, NH) ended the three-goal streak by the Dutchmen by scoring at 5:11 in the second and sophomore Matt Gold (Pittsford, NY) pulled the Knights within one 1:13 before halftime. After another Shearin goal, Union regained the lead at 5:44 of the third quarter, but that would be all the Dutchmen would get. Sophomore Robert Linder (Marcellus, NY) knotted the game up at 6-6 with 32 seconds remaining in the third quarter and Gold scored what would prove to be the game-winner at the 10:52 mark of the fourth, with Shearin adding an insurance goal at the 3:04 mark.

Clarkson held a 6-1 edge in shots in the fourth quarter, severely limiting Union's chances on offense. The Knights also owned a 24-13 lead in groundballs in the second half, possessing the ball for lengthy periods of time to keep the Dutchmen on the defensive.

Sophomore Dylan Broomfield (Clinton, NY) was a key in the midfield again, winning 11 of his 17 faceoffs and scooping up a team-best 11 groundballs. Linder and Brian Freeland (East Berlin, CT) also had four groundballs for the Knights, while goalkeeper Ryan Cole (Orchard Park, NY) added six more groundball pickups.

Shearin scored three goals while Linder and Gold tallied a pair of scores. Peter Goss (Jamesville, NY) scored the other goal for the Knights. Sophomore Corey Herrington (Camillus, NY) assisted on three goals and Matt McCabe (Syracuse, NY) also added an assist.

Cole allowed six goals in the game for the Knights, but stopped six shots to go along with his six groundballs. Stefan Basile made 10 saves in net for Union. Clarkson held advantages in shots (28-25), groundballs (37-25) and faceoffs (11-6).