Boxscore and Play-by-Play
PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – The resiliency of the Plattsburgh State men’s lacrosse team was put to the test Saturday as the Cardinals fought back from a four-goal deficit to get a dramatic 10-9 victory against The College at Brockport in double-overtime.
With the win, Plattsburgh (10-6, 4-1 SUNYAC) clinches a spot in the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) Tournament and can finish no lower than third in the conference standings. The Cardinals will be making their second playoff appearance since the program was founded in 1999.
Brockport (5-8, 1-3 SUNYAC) slowed down the pace of the game early on, keeping the Cardinal offense quiet. The Golden Eagles opened the scoring with 5:48 remaining in the first quarter when leading scorer Jesse Elliot scored his first of three on the day.
Nate Thomas and Elliot put Brockport up by three before Tim Lawrence put Plattsburgh on the board with 46 seconds left in the opening quarter. But Brockport answered with two more in the final 24 seconds to take a 5-1 lead after 15 minutes of play.
Plattsburgh’s Brett McClelland tallied back-to-back goals to begin the second and Lawrence added his second of the day to bring the Cardinals within one.
With 2:38 remaining in the first half, Riley Austin scored his 25
th of the year from Matt Andon-McLane to give Brockport a 6-4 lead at halftime.
The Cardinals came within one goal on four different occasions Saturday but Brockport goaltender Cory Banwaree was outstanding in net to help keep Plattsburgh from scoring the equalizer. Banwaree finished the day with 16 saves.
Brockport began the final quarter with an 8-7 lead but quickly made it 9-7 when Bryon Palmer scored an unassisted goal at the 13:28 mark. Plattsburgh answered back at 10:26 when Joe Kramer scored his third of the day from Lawrence to again make it a one-goal game.
Anthony Pafundi tied it up at 9-9 with 2:45 left in regulation with an assist from Tom Kilderry, sending the game to overtime.
Nick Travers had the best scoring opportunity in the first overtime. The Cardinals’ junior midfielder capitalized on a Brockport turnover and ripped a shot that struck the left post but neither team was able to end it, forcing a second overtime.
Mike Santisteban won the opening faceoff of the second overtime to give Plattsburgh a key possession. The Cardinals got the ball to Kilderry and he did the rest of the work. Kilderry netted the game-winning goal, an unassisted effort, with 2:54 left in the second overtime period.
Lawrence gave the Cardinals three goals and two assists while Kramer added three goals and an assist. In addition to the game-winner, Kilderry contributed three assists.
Santisteban won 14 faceoffs for Plattsburgh and led the team with eight groundballs. Frank Gargiulo caused three turnovers.
Nate Thomas led the Golden Eagles with two goals and two assists. Austin added a pair of goals. Ryan Kerrick had five groundballs and two caused turnovers.
Plattsburgh outshot Brockport, 55-23, and picked up 42 groundballs while the Golden Eagles had 29.
Gordie Gehring earned his 10
th win in net for the Cardinals with seven saves.
The Cardinals will host RPI on Wednesday at 7 p.m. for their final home game of the regular season. Plattsburgh hits the road Saturday to close out its SUNYAC schedule at Geneseo.
