CORTLAND, N.Y. – Down 12-5 entering the final 15 minutes of play, the Plattsbugh State men's lacrosse team were the architects of a furious comeback attempt, outscoring the number-one seeded and No. 11-ranked SUNY Cortland 7-2 in the fourth quarter only to come up short in a 14-12 setback to the Red Dragons in the 2015 SUNYAC Men's Lacrosse Championship Tournament finals on Saturday afternoon.

In the Cardinals' 2015 season finale, senior Jack Felter amassed four points on three goals and one assist and freshman Ryan Hubbard pumped in two scores in the last 6:56 of the game. They were two of the seven Plattsburgh State student-athletes to record multi-point games.

Saturday marked Plattsburgh State's third-consecutive appearance in the SUNYAC Tournament finals – all of which have come against the Red Dragons. The Cardinals wrap up their 2015 campaign with a record of 13-6 which includes a 4-2 showing in conference tilts.

Although the visitors never led, they made sure to keep consistent pressure on the Red Dragons for the majority of the skirmish. Felter registered his first of the day in the opening quarter. Assisting on the Cardinals' first strike of the day was senior James Read who notched his first of three points on the day with the helper.

Trailing 2-1 headed to the second frame, the Cardinals saw the SUNY Cortland tandem of Matt Savlov and Mike Cantelli fire in their second goals of the afternoon in the first 3:30 of the quarter, upping the Red Dragons' edge to 4-1.

Refusing to go down quietly, the Cardinals pulled within one once again after Matt Renko and Austin Belz slung in scores. From there, the teams alternated scoring with Brendan Damm and Felter accounting for Plattsburgh State's goals. Felter's man-up laser cut the Red Dragons' advantage to 6-5 heading to halftime.

Unfortunately for the Cardinals, the Red Dragons came roaring out of the mid-game break with intentions of putting the game out of reach for good. Benjamin Dunlavey completed his hat trick with a pair of scoring drives and T.J. deLyra slung in two of his own as part of a 6-0 scoring run for the home team which spanned the entire quarter.

On the wrong end of a 12-5 deficit heading to the final frame, the Cardinals unleashed a desperate all-out assault on the Red Dragons in a bid to emerge as the victors. Mike Gay opened the Plattsburgh State scoring barrage with his seventh of the season, but goals from Zach Hopps and Billy Davis helped the Red Dragons maintain their eight-goal lead, 14-6, with 10:18 to go.

The Cardinals' never-say-die attitude manifested itself in a big way through the final 8:54 of the battle. Belz initiated a 6-0 Plattsburgh State offensive blitz with his second of the day before Damm and Felter added scores 28 seconds apart to make it a 14-9 game with 7:06 to go.

Back-to-back tallies from Hubbard and Read's sole missile of the day with 1:53 to go pulled the visitors within 14-12, but a costly turnover with 1:13 to go allowed the Red Dragons to run out the clock and capture their 23^rd conference crown.

Junior netminder and All-SUNYAC Tournament Team selection Matt Massaria did all he could to keep his squad in it, making 16 stops in 60 minutes of action. Cortland goalie Scott Tota faced 46 total shots and made 10 saves in the win.

Although they didn't come up on the winning end of things, the Cardinals have very little to hang their heads about. Head coach Ryan Cavanagh took over as the program's all-time leader in coaching victories during the 2015 campaign and Massaria, Renko and senior Brendan Cefalu received spots on the All-SUNYAC Tournament Team as a result of their excellent play.

In all, some 11 seniors which include the likes of Cefalu, Felter, Read, Chris Guzzetta, Cole Andersen, Andrew Tralongo, Andy Krolczyk, Tom Monahan, Peter Johann, Brendan Hickey and Frank Mauro, wrapped up their careers on Saturday afternoon. That group has led Plattsburgh State to four straight SUNYAC Tournament appearances and a record of 51-22 in its tenure.