PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – The Plattsburgh State men's lacrosse team scored nine unanswered goals spanning from midway through the first quarter to midway through the third quarter, as the Cardinals topped Skidmore College, 14-5, in a non-conference game Sunday afternoon at the Field House Complex.
 
Though the Thoroughbreds finished with a 37-32 edge in shots, the Cardinals put 24 of their shots on frame, 14 of which found the back of the net. Plattsburgh State went 15-for-23 on clear attempts, while Skidmore went 12-for-21. The Cardinals were 1-for-2 on the man advantage, while the Thoroughbreds cashed in on two of their five extra-man opportunities.
 
Plattsburgh State rises to 2-0 overall with the win and next hosts Clarkson University on Tuesday, March 7, at 4 p.m. Skidmore drops to 1-2 overall with the loss and entertains Trinity (Conn.) College next on Tuesday, March 7, at 4 p.m.
 
Skidmore scored the first goal of the game with 8:17 left in the first quarter, while the Cardinals buried the final two in the opening stanza, as junior attackman Ryan Hubbard (Aquebogue, N.Y./Riverhead) and sophomore attackman Jake Carroll (East Northport, N.Y./Northport) each found the back of the net in the final five minutes of the period. That gave Plattsburgh State a lead it would not relinquish the rest of the game.
 
Junior midfielder Brandon Heimbuch (Geneva, Ill./Geneva) netted a man-up goal less than five minutes into the second quarter, while senior attackman Ryan Callahan (Miller Place, N.Y./Miller Place) beat the Skidmore goalie twice in the latter stages of the period to give the Cardinals a 5-1 lead at the half.
 
Plattsburgh State erupted for six goals in the third quarter, with Hubbard and senior midfielder Mike Gay (Ronkonkoma, N.Y./Connetquot) each scoring in the opening two minutes of the frame to fire the Cardinals' opening salvo of the second half. Hubbard scored twice in a span of less than a minute to hand Plattsburgh State a 9-1 advantage before Skidmore's junior attackman Cody Legeza broke up the scoring spree with a marker midway through the period. Callahan and Gay each notched a goal in the final five minutes of the third quarter, while junior attackman Brendan Halloran cashed in on a man-up goal with 10 seconds left in the frame to draw the Thoroughbreds within 11-3 heading into the fourth quarter.
 
Legeza scored once again with the man advantage to open up the fourth, as Skidmore used just 23 seconds of clock. Senior long-stick midfielder Kyle Espejo (Poughkeepsie, N.Y./Arlington) countered with a goal six minutes later with Plattsburgh State down a man, and Carroll scored two minutes after that to hand the Cardinals a 13-4 edge. While Skidmore's junior attackman Chris Melligon scored with 3:35 to go in regulation, Hubbard capped off his prolific scoring day with a marker 20 seconds before the final horn.
 
Plattsburgh State was led by Hubbard, who finished with five goals and one assist. Callahan posted a strong performance as well, tallying five points on three goals and two assists. Carroll and Gay each tallied two goals, while Espejo and Heimbuch each scored once. Espejo caused issues for the Thoroughbreds on defense, forcing three turnovers and collecting five ground balls.
 
Legeza and Halloran led Skidmore with two goals each, while freshman attackman Will Lukas dished out two assists.
 
Junior goalie Donald Tesoriero (Huntington, N.Y./Huntington) made five saves in first 30 minutes of play for Plattsburgh State, while junior goalie Austin Graham (Yorktown Heights, N.Y./Yorktown) took over in the second half and stopped nine shots. Junior goalie Chris Baughan shouldered the loss for Skidmore in between the posts, making six saves in 40:04, before junior goalie Josh Worley took over and turned aside four shots in the final 19:56 of action.