SCHENECTADY, N.Y. – The Union College men's soccer team will ride a seven-match conference unbeaten streak into the 2025 Liberty League Tournament, which the fourth-seeded Garnet Chargers will kick off on Tuesday by hosting fifth-seeded Clarkson University at College Park Field.
ALL TOGETHER NOW: The men's soccer team is joined in the postseason this fall by the women's soccer team, field hockey team and women's volleyball team; this marks the first time since 2009 that all four Union fall sports qualified for the postseason in the same year. Combined with the football team's unbeaten conference slate so far, Union is the only Liberty League school to have all five sports still in contention for a conference title as the calendar turns to November.
THE TEAMS: Union (7-5-5, 4-1-4 Liberty League) is seeded fourth in the Liberty League Tournament, and will face off with fifth-seeded Clarkson (7-5-4, 4-3-2 Liberty League) in the first round. The other first-round matchup features third-seeded Vassar College (9-5-3, 5-2-2 Liberty League) hosting sixth-seeded St. Lawrence University (6-9-0, 4-5-0 Liberty League). Hobart (11-0-5, 6-0-3 Liberty League) earned the top seed and Skidmore College (10-3-3, 6-2-1 Liberty League) nabbed the second seed in the conference postseason.
POSTSEASON HISTORY: Union is making its 10th appearance in the Liberty League Tournament and first since 2023, when Union hosted the semifinals before losing to Ithaca College in penalty kicks. The Garnet Chargers are still searching for their first conference championship after making three appearances in the final, and currently hold a 2-9-3 record in Liberty League Tournament history, including one win and two losses in penalty kicks. The team's last postseason victory came in the 2009 semifinals with a 3-2 (2OT) win over Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
UNION VS. CLARKSON: Union and Clarkson have met 42 times and neither team boasts an edge in the all-time series, with the teams playing to a 19-19-4 record entering the week, although Union is 14-4-3 in the last 21 contests after Clarkson went 15-5-1 in the first 21. Union is 3-1-1 in the last five meetings between the teams, but the Golden Knights earned a 2-1 win in Schenectady on September 27, which is Union's only conference defeat this season.
LAST MEETING: The two sides faced off at College Park Field in the second conference match of the year for both teams, a 2-1 victory for Clarkson. Daniel Medina and Paul Rolland found the net for the visitors sandwiched around a tally by junior Luke Ingber. Rolland's game-winner in the 81st minute provided the difference.
ABOUT UNION: The Garnet Chargers finished the regular season with an 7-5-5 record and a 4-1-4 mark in the Liberty League, marking the first time since 2010 that the team dropped only one game in Liberty League play. The team's five regular-season losses are also the fewest in a season since posting a 10-3-4 regular-season mark in 2015.
FIRST-YEAR SUCCESS: In his first season as head coach, John Ciano has picked up seven victories headed into the postseason, tied for the most by a Union leader in his first season since Aldo Nardiello (11-5-1) in 1991. The four conference wins and .667 conference winning percentage are both best for a first-year skipper in program history as well.
DEFENSE-MINDED: Union ranks fifth in the Liberty League by conceding only 16 goals in 17 matches, the fewest allowed in a regular season since allowing 16 in 17 outings during the 2016 campaign.
PERRY POWER: Senior Jacob Perry had led the Garnet Chargers from the back, posting a 1.02 goals against average and .820 save percentage with six shutouts in 16 appearances. The senior has been even better in Liberty League play, leading all conference goalies in goals against average (0.56), save percentage (.886) and shutouts (5) in nine conference matches this season. Perry is a three-time Liberty League Defensive Player of the Week and brings a personal shutout streak of 332:14 into the postseason, including three straight clean sheets.
REAPING THE REWARDS: In addition to Perry's three honors, sophomore Eamonn Kelly was named the Liberty League Offensive Player of the Week on November 3 for his game-winning goal against St. Lawrence and first-year Gavin Blake earned Rookie of the Week honors on October 20 for netting the go-ahead goal in a win over Ithaca.
ABOUT THE GOLDEN KNIGHTS: Clarkson finished the regular season with a 7-5-4 overall record and a 4-3-2 conference record to finish in fifth place. The Golden Knights are ninth in the conference in scoring with 17 goals in 16 matches, but rank third in the Liberty League by allowing only 14 goals. Paul Rolland leads the team with four goals and 11 points on the season, followed by Noah Partenza with three goals and seven points. Carter Kladstrup leads the Liberty League with an .838 save percentage and is tied for the conference high with six shutouts, while also ranking second in goals against average (0.80), saves (62) and saves per game (4.13).
WHAT'S NEXT: The Union-Clarkson winner will advance to the Liberty League Tournament semifinals on Friday at top-seeded Hobart College.
2025 Liberty League Tournament
First Round – Tuesday, November 4, 2025
#6 St. Lawrence at #3 Vassar, 1:30 PM
#5 Clarkson at #4 Union, 4:00 PM
Semifinal Round – Friday, November 7, 2025
#4 Union/#5 Clarkson at #1 Hobart, 1:30 PM
#3 Vassar/#6 St. Lawrence at #2 Skidmore, TBA
Championship Game – Sunday, November 9, 2025
Semifinal Winners at Highest Remaining Seed