Box Score PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – With both sides fighting through snow showers and frigid temperatures, the Plattsburgh State men's lacrosse team suffered a 9-7 loss to the Middlebury Panthers in a non-conference matchup Tuesday afternoon at the Field House Lacrosse Complex.
The Cardinals (1-1) faced penalty trouble early and the Panthers (1-1) capitalized with three man-up goals. Stephen Seymour scored twice on extra-man opportunities while Sean Carroll added a man-up goal to give Middlebury the quick 3-0 lead.
With 5:41 left in the first quarter, Middlebury's Jon Broome made it 4-0 with his second of the year but Plattsburgh State's Tom Duggan scored his first of the year late in the first to cut the deficit to 4-1 at the end of the quarter.
Plattsburgh State opened the second with unassisted goals from Brendan Damm and James Read to bring the Cardinals within one but Middlebury's Brendan Gallagher scored at 9:20 to make it 5-3 in favor of the Panthers.
Plattsburgh State's Anthony Pafundi closed out the scoring in the first half with his third of the season off a pass from Tom Monahan with 5:04 left second, sending the Cardinals to the locker room at the half down by a score of 5-4.
The Cardinals drew even just 1:03 into the third quarter when Robbie Ashlaw set up Josh Oliver for his fifth of the year but Plattsburgh State was unable to grab a lead in Tuesday's contest. The Panthers scored the next three before Plattsburgh State's Tim Lawrence netted his fifth of the year with one second left in the quarter, trimming the Middlebury lead to 8-6 heading into the final quarter.
Read recorded his second of the afternoon early in the fourth quarter to put the Cardinals in striking distance, but Middlebury's Jon Broome registered a man-up goal with 4:42 left in the game to secure the win for the Panthers.
The Panthers outshot the Cardinals by a slim 39-38 margin. Middlebury picked up 27 ground balls while Plattsburgh State finished the day with 25. Each team won 10 draws. Middlebury went 5-for-12 on extra-man opportunities and Plattsburgh State went 0-for-2.
Read scored a pair of goals in his first game of the season for the Cardinals while Ashlaw contributed three assists. Freshman Joe Eiseman won nine face-offs and led the team with six ground balls.
Seymour finished with three goals for the Panthers and Taylor Pirie added four assists. Broome and Carroll tallied three points apiece for the visiting team.
Plattsburgh State's Andrew Hauk made 12 saves in the loss. Nate Gaudio stopped 10 shots in the win for Middlebury.
The Cardinals return to action Friday night at 7:30 p.m. against Kean University. The non-conference game will be played at Connetquot High School in Bohemia, N.Y.
