PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – Buoyed by a career day from senior attackman Ryan Callahan (Miller Place, N.Y./Miller Place), the Plattsburgh State men's lacrosse team eased past visiting Plymouth State University on Thursday afternoon at the Field House Complex, defeating the Panthers by an 18-6 final in non-conference action.
 
Callahan, the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) leader in goals (22), assists (14) and points (36), posted a career-high eight points on five goals and three assists. His five goals achieved a new career-high, while his three assists matched his career-best total from the team's 2017 opener on March 1 against Castleton University.
 
Plattsburgh State held the upper hand in every department on the stat sheet, finishing with a 45-21 edge in shots and a 37-27 margin in ground balls while going 13-for-14 on clear attempts, 2-for-5 on extra-man opportunities and 15-for-27 at the face-off X. Plymouth State, meanwhile, went 10-for-17 on clears, was 12-for-27 on face-offs and went 0-for-2 with the man advantage.
 
The Cardinals rise to 5-2 overall with the win and next visit the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute on Wednesday, March 29, at 4 p.m. RPI is currently ranked at No. 20 in the United State Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA)/Nike NCAA Division III Coaches Poll. Plymouth State falls to 1-3 with the loss and next visits Norwich University on Monday, March 27, at 4 p.m.
 
Senior midfielder Austin Belz (Bayport, N.Y./Bayport-Blue Point) opened scoring 4:10 into the contest before junior attackman Ryan Hubbard (Aquebogue, N.Y./Riverhead) found the back of the net less than a minute later. Callahan then buried back-to-back scores, while Plymouth State got on the board with 4:35 left in the first quarter on a goal by senior defensive midfielder Ryan Geppert. Sophomore attackman Jake Carroll (East Northport, N.Y./Northport) notched a goal before Belz tallied with 24 seconds left in the period to give the Cardinals a 6-1 lead through 15 minutes of play.
 
Senior midfielder Mike Gay (Ronkonkoma, N.Y./Connetquot), Carroll and sophomore midfielder Joe Mineau (Albany, N.Y./Colonie) all scored to open the second quarter before junior midfielder Galen Antolino got one back for the Panthers. Callahan beat the Plymouth State goalie once again less than two minutes later, but the Panthers retaliated with two unanswered goals to close the half. Senior midfielder Pete Allen scored with 1:35 left in the period, while senior attackman Colin Claflin benefited from two Panther timeouts in the final seven seconds of the half, scoring unassisted with 1.7 seconds remaining. That cut the deficit to 10-4 heading into the halftime intermission.
 
After more than five minutes of scoreless action to start the third, Callahan netted his fourth and fifth goals of the game. Hubbard scored 10 seconds following Callahan's second marker, while freshman midfielder Kevin Litchauer (Poughkeepsie, N.Y./Arlington) reached the goal column with a tally with 1:53 left in the frame. That ended up pushing the score to 14-4, which stood up through the end of the quarter.
 
Plymouth State's senior attackman Nicco Sorrentino fired the opening salvo in the fourth quarter, but Plattsburgh State bounced back with three consecutive goals from junior midfielder Billy Moller (Greenlawn, N.Y./Harborfields), sophomore long-stick midfielder Christopher Weider (Smithtown, N.Y./Smithtown West) and Belz, with Moller and Belz each scoring on man-up chances. Weider's goal served as the first of his Plattsburgh State career. Antolino found the back of the cage for the second time in the contest with 2:10 left in regulation, while junior midfielder Matt Gonzales (Yorktown Heights, N.Y./Yorktown) scored his first collegiate goal 1:02 later to complete scoring for the game.
 
In addition to Callahan's remarkable afternoon, Hubbard and Carroll each finished with four points (two goals and two assists), while Belz recorded three points on three goals. Moller (one goal, one assist), senior attackman Ryan Wilson (Westfield, Mass./Westfield) (two assists) and Gay (one goal, one assist) all notched two points, while Mineau, Litchauer, Weider and Gonzales also scored. Junior face-off specialist Travis Mauro (Northport, N.Y./Northport) scooped up four ground balls and went 7-for-11 on face-offs, while senior defenseman Joey Duckham (Poughquag, N.Y./Arlington) and junior defenseman Sean Hayes (Levittown, N.Y./Division Avenue) each caused two turnovers.
 
Antolino racked up three points (two goals, one assist) to lead Plymouth State, while Sorrentino, Claflin, Geppert and Allen all scored as well. Junior face-off specialist Kyle Stockman went 6-for-13 on face-offs, while senior long-stick midfielder Adam Haversat collected a game-high five ground balls. Sophomore defensive midfielder Casey Elkins caused two turnovers.
 
Junior goalie Austin Graham (Yorktown Heights, N.Y./Yorktown) was credited with his first career win at Plattsburgh State, making six stops in 45 minutes of play. Junior goalie Donald Tesoriero (Huntington, N.Y./Huntington) and freshman goalie Jack Hayes (Thornwood, N.Y./Westlake) each made a save in reserve duty, with Hayes making his first collegiate appearance. Freshman goalie Charlie Harrington shouldered the loss for Plymouth State with four saves in 20:27 of action, while senior goalie Jayson LaRiviere played the final 39:33 and made 10 stops.