MILLER PLACE, N.Y. – The Plattsburgh State men's lacrosse team never trailed in a 17-7 win over non-conference Eastern Connecticut State University Saturday afternoon at Miller Place High School.
 
The Cardinals held the upper hand in just about every department on the stat sheet, holding a 54-22 edge in shots while going 13-for-16 on clear attempts and 17-for-27 on face-offs. Eastern Connecticut was 16-for-25 on clears and went just 1-for-6 on extra-man opportunities.
 
Plattsburgh State rises to 3-1 overall with the win and next faces New England College on Wednesday, March 15, at 12 p.m. in Virginia Beach, Va. Eastern Connecticut drops to 2-3 with the loss and next hosts Roger Williams University in its home opener on Wednesday, March 15, at 4 p.m.
 
Senior midfielder Mike Gay (Ronkonkoma, N.Y./Connetquot) put the Cardinals on the board 3:41 into the contest before junior midfielder Brad Johnston (Altamont, N.Y./Guilderland) buried a goal and junior attackman Ryan Hubbard (Aquebogue, N.Y./Riverhead) scored twice to put Plattsburgh State up, 4-0. Eastern Connecticut's junior midfielder Harrison Urda cut the deficit to three with 2:49 left in the first quarter, though senior midfielder Austin Belz (Bayport, N.Y./Bayport-Blue Point) countered just more than a minute later with a man-up goal to give the Cardinals a 5-1 advantage through one period of play.
 
After each team scored to open the second quarter, the Cardinals netted four unanswered goals, the last of which, from junior midfielder Billy Moller (St. Albans, Vt./Bellows Free Academy), gave Plattsburgh State a 10-2 edge heading into halftime.
 
Senior attackman Ryan Callahan (Miller Place, N.Y./Miller Place) and sophomore attackman Ryan Ehli (Smithtown, N.Y./Smithtown West) each found the back of the net to kick off the third quarter before freshman midfielder Ed Moran and sophomore attackman Samuel Watson both scored for Eastern Connecticut in the waning minutes of the period. Sophomore midfielder Joe Mineau (Albany, N.Y./Colonie) tallied a goal with 30 seconds left in the stanza, however, to extend the Cardinal advantage to 13-4 heading into the final regulation period.
 
Mineau tacked on another goal 1:27 into the fourth quarter, while Eastern Connecticut scored twice to pull within eight. Senior defensive midfielder Collin Cunningham (Ballston Spa, N.Y./Ballston Spa) and senior attackman Logan Lamothe (St. Albans, Vt./Bellows Free Academy) each found the back of the net before senior midfielder Nick Biasetti responded with a score with 1:30 left in regulation. Lamothe capped off the scoring for the afternoon with 1:05 remaining, as he buried a man-down goal.
 
Hubbard paced the Cardinal attack with five points (two goals and three assists), while Callahan scored two goals and added an assist in a return to his alma mater. Lamothe also posted three points with two goals and an assist. Mineau and Belz each scored twice, while Cunningham, freshman midfielder Kevin Litchauer (Poughkeepsie, N.Y./Arlington), Moller, Gay, Johnston, Ehli and junior midfielder Sean Adler (Smithtown, N.Y./Smithtown) all scored. Gay and Adler each added an assist.

Senior long-stick midfielder Kyle Espejo (Poughkeepsie, N.Y./Arlington) led the Plattsburgh State defense with a career-high nine ground balls and two caused turnovers.
 
For Eastern Connecticut, Watson scored three goals, while Biasetti posted a team-high four ground balls and junior defenseman Brandon Klett caused a game-high three turnovers.
 
Plattsburgh State utilized three goalies in the win, with junior Donald Tesoriero (Huntington, N.Y./Huntington) earning the win in 30 minutes of first-half play with two saves. Junior Austin Graham (Yorktown Heights, N.Y./Yorktown) made six stops in 25:28 of action, while sophomore Keith Cakoyanis (Bethpage, N.Y./Plainedge) turned aside one shot in 4:32. Junior goalie Chris Gorman shouldered the loss for Eastern Connecticut, making 11 saves in 50:57 of play.