PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – Wednesday afternoon marked just the second time in program history that the Plattsburgh State men's lacrosse team earned the right to host a State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) Championship Tournament.

Thanks to a flick of the wrist – well, actually 15 flicks – the Cardinals sent their fans home happy, put an end to the season of SUNY Potsdam and, most importantly, set up another date with SUNY Cortland for the league crown.

Brendan Damm put forth another three goal, three assist showing against the Bears, Ryan Hubbard and Jack Felter added hat tricks and 11 total Cardinals recorded at least one point as Plattsburgh State eliminated SUNY Potsdam from the SUNYAC Tournament with a 15-7 win at the Field House Complex.

Few shot attempts eluded the watchful eyes of Plattssburgh State netminder Matt Massaria who made 14 saves while surrendering just six scores in 56:12 between the pipes. The Cardinals – and Massaria – improved to 13-5 with the win while SUNY Potsdam dropped to 7-8 in the season-ending setback.

Plattsburgh State outshot the Bears 56-35 and finished the game 3-for-6 on man-up attempts. SUNY Potsdam went 0-for-4 with an extra attacker.

Having already taken part in an emotional, penalty-filled bout exactly one week prior, the Cardinals and Bears allowed cooler heads to prevail this time around. Plattsburgh State's highlight reel began just 54 seconds in when Matt Renko sent a nifty behind-the-back shot past Potsdam's Pete Gropp to give the home team a 1-0 lead.

Renko's fancy tally initiated a 3-0 scoring surge for the home team over the first 6:32. Both Brendan Cefalu and Mike Gay fired in man-up scores to make matters 3-0 Plattsburgh State before the Bears lit the proverbial lamp for the first time.
In the final 3:40 of the opening quarter, the Bears received scoring strikes from Matt Kennedy and Ed Doherty to trim the Cardinals' edge to 3-2.

For nearly two-thirds of the second quarter, the teams wage a scoreless battle before Felter took a pass from James Read and sent an even-strength dart past Gropp to up the Cardinals' edge to 4-2.

All the time the Bears needed to tie the score, though, was nine seconds. Dalston Day solved Massaria with an unassisted rip with 4:50 to go in the frame and after the ensuing Potsdam faceoff win, Doherty fired in his second of the day with 4:41 remaining to knot matters at four.

Thanks to the unlikely tandem of Andy Krolczyk and Matt Howard, though, the Cardinals took all the momentum into their corner at the half. With five seconds to go in the opening half, Howard slung a sharp pass to Krolczyk who fired a rocket off of his long pole while beat Gropp low and put the Cardinals ahead 5-4.

Whatever halftime game plan head coach Ryan Cavanagh and assistant coach Brett McClelland drew up worked wonders as the Bears were limited to just one goal through a stretch of 23:42. That sole score occurred 1:17 into the third when Brian Martin tallied his only goal of the bout to knot matters at five.

In the final 12:50 of the quarter, the home team unleashed a high-scoring assault on Gropp and the Bears to put things out of reach. Damm was especially merciless during that stretch as he found the back of the net on three occasions. Renko began the Cardinals' 5-0 run with his second of the game and Hubbard added the eventual game-winner with 7:57 to go in the frame.

The fourth quarter saw the Cardinals extend their scoring run to 8-0 as Felter, Andrew Sofroniou and Hubbard each hit pay dirt to extend the home team's edge to 13-5. Senior Andrew Tralongo notched an assist on Felter's score which opened the final frame.

Doherty and Jon Woodworth would score for the Bears in the last 15 minutes, but one more score each from Felter and Hubbard in the last 5:54 only padded the Cardinals' insurmountable lead.

Gropp made 15 saves in the setback and Doherty finished with a hat trick for the Bears. Joey Kromer win 18 of his 25 faceoffs and reeled in a game-best 10 ground balls.

For the third time in as many seasons, the Cardinals will grapple with SUNY Cortland for the right to call themselves SUNYAC Tournament champions. The tilt between Plattsburgh State and the top-seeded and No. 11-nationally ranked Red Dragons is scheduled to begin at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday afternoon at the SUNY Cortland Stadium Complex.