SCHENECTADY, N.Y. – The Union College women's soccer team is back in the Liberty League Tournament for the second straight season and will begin the postseason at home for the first time since 2021 as the third-seeded Garnet Chargers host sixth-seeded St. Lawrence University on Tuesday at College Park Field.
THE TEAMS: Union (6-4-7, 4-1-4 Liberty League) earned its highest finish in the conference standings in five years with its third-place spot, earning the right to host St. Lawrence (6-5-6, 3-3-3 Liberty League) in the first round. The other first-round
matchup features fourth-seeded Ithaca College (8-4-4, 4-3-2 Liberty League) and fifth-seeded Rochester Institute of Technology (6-6-3, 4-4-1 Liberty League). William Smith College (13-3-0, 9-0-0 Liberty League) earned the top seed and Vassar College (10-1-4, 6-1-2 Liberty League) nabbed the second seed in the conference postseason.
POSTSEASON HISTORY: Union is making its 14th appearance in the Liberty League Tournament. Union is 10-9-0 all-time in the Liberty League Tournament, including four conference titles in 2002, 2003, 2005 and 2006.
UNION VS. ST. LAWRENCE: Tuesday's meeting will be the 40th all-time meeting between Union and St. Lawrence, with Union holding a 20-13-6 edge. Union is unbeaten (1-0-2) in the last three matchups, coming on the heels of a nine-match unbeaten streak for the Saints (8-0-1) before that. The teams have met only once in the Liberty League Tournament, coming back in 2003 when Union posted a 4-1 semifinal victory on the way to its second straight conference title. The teams also met three times in the NYSWCAA Tournament, with St. Lawrence winning in 1991 and Union taking home the state title with finals victories in both 1999 and 2000 (in penalty kicks).
LAST MEETING: The teams have to go all the way back to Saturday for their last meeting, when the Garnet Chargers and Saints ended the regular season with a scoreless draw in the North Country. Senior Maya Koster made four saves for Union and Zoe Davenport had three stops for SLU, as the home team finished with a slight 14-12 edge in shots.
ABOUT UNION: The Garnet Chargers have assured themselves of a third straight winning season and the fifth in six years under head coach Karen Perron. Union's one conference loss during the regular season marks the program's fewest league losses in a season since rolling to a 6-0-1 mark in both 2005 and 2006. The Garnet Chargers will need to find some offense in order to make a postseason run, as the squad ranks last in the conference and 329th in Division III in scoring offense this season with just 16 goals in 17 matches.
GETTING DEFENSIVE: Union relies heavily on one of the conference's best defensive units, as Union ranks third in the Liberty League after allowing only 10 goals in 17 regular-season matches, including just three matches allowing more than one goal. The Garnet Chargers were even better defensively in conference play, conceding a conference-low two goals in nine matches, including eight shutouts. The two goals allowed are tied with several William Smith teams for the fewest allowed over a conference slate since 2016.
MY OH MAYA: Senior Maya Koster has put together one of the best seasons by a Union goalkeeper in recent program history this season, posting a 0.54 goals against average and .871 save percentage with nine shutouts in 16 starts. She enters the week in a tie for third on the school's single-season shutouts list, as well as ranking seventh in goals against average and just outside the top-10 in save percentage. The senior has twice been named the Liberty League Defensive Performer of the Week this season.
FIT TO BE TIED: Union's seven ties this year are a program record and are (appropriately) tied for fifth-most in Division III this season. Of the seven draws, four came against nationally ranked opposition, including scoreless stalemates with #9 Middlebury College and #9 Vassar College as well as 1-1 draws with #20 Misericordia University and #19 Hamilton College.
ABOUT THE SAINTS: St. Lawrence is back in the conference tournament for the first time in four years and looking for its first postseason victory since 2019. The Saints sit in the middle of the pack in the conference in both goals scored (sixth) and goals allowed (fifth) this season. Zoe Rogan leads the team in scoring with five goals and five assists for 15 points, ranking sixth in the conference in scoring on the year. Goalies Reagan Murphy and Zoe Davenport both have seen plenty of action in goal, with Murphy posting a 1.30 goals against average and .812 save percentage in 10 starts and Davenport registering a 0.43 GAA and .824 save percentage in seven starting assignments.
WHAT'S NEXT: The Union-St. Lawrence winner will advance to the Liberty League Tournament semifinals on Friday at second-seeded Vassar College.
2026 Liberty League Tournament
First Round – Tuesday, November 3, 2026
#5 RIT at #4 Ithaca, 1:30 p.m.
#6 St. Lawrence at #3 Union, 6:00 p.m.
Semifinal Round – Friday, November 6, 2026
#3 Union/#6 St. Lawrence at #2 Vassar, TBA
#4 Ithaca/#5 RIT at #1 William Smith, TBA
Championship Game – Sunday, November 8, 2026
Semifinal Winners at Highest Remaining Seed