Box Score PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – Robbie Ashlaw and Brendan Damm combined for nine points but it wasn't enough as the Plattsburgh State men's lacrosse team suffered an 11-10 loss to RPI in a rain-soaked non-conference game Tuesday afternoon at the Field House Turf Complex.
 
The Cardinals (9-5) came out of a slow-paced first quarter with a 2-0 lead after goals from Ashlaw and Anthony Pafundi. RPI (8-4) opened the second with a goal from Breanainn McNeally before a shot by Damm gave Plattsburgh State a 3-1 advantage with 8:16 left in the first half.
 
Just under the 8:00 mark, the Cardinals' bench thought they may have grabbed a three-goal lead when Pafundi ripped a shot that looked like it may have slid just inside the post, but the officials signaled no goal and play continued. From there the tables turned in favor of the Engineers, who rattled off four goals in a three-minute span to take a 5-3 lead over the home team. Plattsburgh State closed out the quarter with a goal from Matt Renko, cutting the deficit to 5-4 at the half.
 
McNeally completed the hat trick for RPI with 4:32 gone in the third before Damm and Ashlaw scored the next two for the Cardinals to even the score at 6-6 after three quarters.
 
The Engineers began the fourth with back-to-back goals but the Cardinals' duo of Damm and Ashlaw responded again to tie the game at 8-8. Three more for RPI put Plattsburgh State in a tough spot with 2:06 left to play but the Cardinals kept fighting as James Read set up Ashlaw for his fourth of the afternoon with 1:02 left on the clock. Damm added his fourth of the game and conference leading 41^st of the year with six seconds left to bring the Cardinals within one. Plattsburgh State called a timeout in hopes of drawing up a play to score the equalizer, but the Cardinals failed to win the draw before the final horn sounded.
 
Ashlaw contributed four goals and an assist while Damm added four of his own. Read chipped in three assists and Renko scored a goal and an assist. Mitchell LaBianca won 9-of-13 faceoffs for the Cardinals while Charlie Dullea led the team in ground balls (6) and caused turnovers (3).
 
McNeally scored a game-high five goals and six points for the Engineers. Scott Crow added four points while Patrick Finn and Matt Hall registered three points apiece. John Phillips scooped up seven ground balls and caused two turnovers.
 
Plattsburgh State outshot RPI, 42-41, while the Engineers finished with a 32-26 advantage in ground balls. RPI went 2-for-4 on extra-man opportunities while the Cardinals were 0-for-4.
 
RPI's Alex Castronovo stopped 13 shots to improve to 8-4 on the year. Andrew Hauk recorded 12 saves in the loss.
 
The Cardinals head to Clarkson on Friday for their final non-conference game of the regular season. Game time is set for 7 p.m.