PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – The Plattsburgh State men's lacrosse team clinched the right to host a State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) Tournament semifinal game on Saturday afternoon at the Field House Complex, as the Cardinals topped SUNY Geneseo, 13-6, in SUNYAC action.
 
Plattsburgh State can be no worse than the No. 2 seed in the SUNYAC Tournament, and it sets the stage for a game against SUNY Cortland on Saturday, April 29, that will determine the top overall seed and the SUNYAC regular-season champion.
 
The Cardinals rise to 9-4 overall (4-0 SUNYAC) with the win and next host SUNY Potsdam on Wednesday, April 26, at 7 p.m. Geneseo drops to 8-4 overall (2-2 SUNYAC) with the loss and next hosts The College at Brockport on Wednesday, April 26, at 7 p.m.
 
Geneseo put a scare into Plattsburgh State early, with junior attackman Joshua Merkel and sophomore attackman Kyle Wanamaker each scoring in the opening five minutes to stake the Knights to a 2-0 lead. Junior attackman Ryan Hubbard (Aquebogue, N.Y./Riverhead) put the Cardinals on the board midway through the first quarter to draw the home team within one, while sophomore midfielder Joe Mineau (Albany, N.Y./Colonie) converted on a feed from junior midfielder Billy Moller (Greenlawn, N.Y./Harborfields) to knot the tally at 2-all. Geneseo then received a pair of goals from senior midfielder Michael Engstrom and Merkel to go up, 4-2, through 15 minutes of play.
 
Perhaps the biggest highlight-reel play of the game came with 3:28 elapsed in the second quarter, as tic-tac-toe passing along the left wing ultimately allowed sophomore attackman Jake Carroll (East Northport, N.Y./Northport) to feed senior attackman Ryan Callahan (Miller Place, N.Y./Miller Place) across the crease to the right post, and Callahan wasted little time with the ball in his crosse before burying it into the back of the cage at point-blank range. Hubbard connected with senior midfielder Austin Belz (Bayport, N.Y./Bayport-Blue Point) for a pair of goals in a short span to give Plattsburgh State a 5-4 lead, while Callahan scored unassisted to push the Plattsburgh State edge to 6-4 with 7:11 left in the second quarter. That margin stood through the remainder of the period, one in which the Cardinals outscored the Knights, 4-0.
 
Geneseo's sophomore attackman Zachary DeBottis cashed in on a feed from junior midfielder Alex Leuze to trim the gap to one with just 1:41 gone in the third quarter before Plattsburgh State bombarded Geneseo with a result-sealing streak of seven unanswered goals, which stretched into the latter stages of the fourth quarter. Senior midfielder Mike Gay (Ronkonkoma, N.Y./Connetquot) kicked off the run 1:08 after DeBottis' goal with a nifty pump fake in traffic that ultimately gave him enough space to fire a shot past the Knight goalie. Mineau connected with Belz for a goal midway through the third, while Hubbard found Carroll for a tally just more than three minutes later. Callahan and Hubbard each scored unassisted in the final 2:30 of the period to give the Cardinals an 11-5 advantage through three periods of play.
 
Midway through the fourth quarter, senior attackman Logan Lamothe (St. Albans, Vt./Bellows Free Academy) intercepted a pass on a Geneseo clear attempt in the Knights' defensive zone and found Hubbard right outside of the crease. Hubbard deked the goalie and deposited the ball into the back of the net for his SUNYAC-leading 37th goal of the season. Junior midfielder Brad Johnston (Altamont, N.Y./Guilderland) capped off the surge with 4:01 left in regulation, while Geneseo's senior attackman Ryan Gulbransen scored less than a minute later to provide what ended up being the final goal of the contest.
 
Plattsburgh State finished with a 47-19 edge in shots and a 37-21 cushion in ground balls while going 14-for-16 on clears and 14-for-22 on face-offs. Neither team was able to cash in on any extra-man opportunities, with Plattsburgh State going 0-for-2 and Geneseo going 0-for-1. Notably, all three penalties called in the game were personal fouls of the slashing variety.
 
Hubbard finished with six points on three goals and three assists, while Callahan and Belz each scored three times. Carroll and Mineau both recorded a goal and an assist, while other point-getters included Johnston (one goal), Gay (one goal), Moller (one assist) and Lamothe (one assist). Junior face-off specialist Travis Mauro (Northport, N.Y./Northport) went 11-for-18 on face-offs and scooped up five ground balls, while senior long-stick midfielder Kyle Espejo (Poughkeepsie, N.Y./Arlington) collected five ground balls as well.
 
For Geneseo, Merkel scored twice, while Wanamaker, Engstrom, DeBottis and Gulbransen each scored once. Leuze tallied the Knights' lone assist of the day. Sophomore defenseman Jack Crowley helped Geneseo out defensively with six ground balls and three caused turnovers.
 
Junior goalie Austin Graham (Yorktown Heights, N.Y./Yorktown) earned the win in goal for the Cardinals to rise to 5-2 on the year, making four saves in 57:01 of action, while junior goalie Michael Yehl sustained the loss for the Knights with 11 stops in 55:10 of work.