PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – The Plattsburgh State men's lacrosse team was unable to sustain an early 3-0 lead and a 7-6 advantage early in the third quarter, as the Cardinals lost, 12-9, to No. 5 SUNY Cortland in the regular-season and State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) finale for both teams on Saturday afternoon at the Field House Complex. It also served as Senior Day for the Cardinals, as they honored their 12 seniors in a pregame ceremony.
 
In a game that featured the top two teams in the SUNYAC for the regular-season title, the Red Dragons outscored the Cardinals, 8-3, in the second and third quarters to escape with the win.
 
Plattsburgh State falls to 10-5 overall (5-1 SUNYAC) with the loss and earns the No. 2 seed in the SUNYAC Tournament. The Cardinals will host third-seeded The College at Brockport in the semifinal round on Wednesday, May 3, at 4 p.m. Cortland rises to 14-1 overall (6-0 SUNYAC) with the win and will face fourth-seeded SUNY Geneseo in the semifinal round of the SUNYAC Tournament on Wednesday, May 3, at 4 p.m.
 
The Cardinals captured the momentum in a big way early, as senior midfielder Austin Belz (Bayport, N.Y./Bayport-Blue Point) scored on a pass from senior attackman Ryan Callahan (Miller Place, N.Y./Miller Place) 3:08 into the contest before freshman midfielder Kevin Litchauer (Poughkeepsie, N.Y./Arlington) fed junior midfielder Brandon Heimbuch (Geneva, Ill./Geneva) for a goal 4:23 into the game. On the ensuing face-off, junior face-off specialist Joe Eiseman (Farmingville, N.Y./Sachem East) won the draw and went straight to goal, scoring unassisted to stake the Cardinals to a 3-0 advantage. Cortland got on the board with a marker by junior midfielder Nate Beresovoy that was assisted by sophomore midfielder Joey Panariello midway through the first quarter, while Litchauer scored unassisted with 4:03 left in the period to give Plattsburgh State a 4-1 cushion through one quarter of play.
 
In the second, Panariello found sophomore attackman Dean Riley for a Cortland man-up goal just more than a minute into the period, while Belz cashed in on a feed from senior midfielder Mike Gay (Ronkonkoma, N.Y./Connetquot) on a man-up chance two minutes later to push the Cardinal edge back out to three. The Red Dragons scored the final three goals of the second quarter, however, to tie the game at 5-all heading into halftime. Panariello converted on a feed from junior attackman Thomas McNaney before Beresovoy scored two minutes later. Junior attackman Devin Phelps provided the game-tying goal on a McNaney pass.
 
While Beresovoy gave Cortland its first lead of the game 1:03 into the third quarter, sophomore attackman Jake Carroll (East Northport, N.Y./Northport) and junior attackman Ryan Hubbard (Aquebogue, N.Y./Riverhead) scored back-to-back goals to regain the advantage. Cortland seized the lead right back with goals by junior midfielder Eddie Eddington and senior midfielder Jimmy Nielsen, with Nielsen's goal being assisted by Panariello. Sophomore defenseman Ethan Parks scored with 32 seconds left in the period to forge a 9-7 Cortland edge heading into the final regulation quarter.
 
Callahan found Gay for a man-up goal early in the fourth before Phelps started a run of three unanswered Cortland goals that ultimately salted the game away for the Red Dragons. Panariello scored on a Phelps pass before Phelps collected his third point of the period by scoring on a helper from McNaney to hand Cortland a 12-8 lead. Finally, in the last second of regulation, senior midfielder Nick DeCeglia (East Northport, N.Y./Northport) found the back of the cage on a man-up chance, making good on a pass from Callahan.
 
Plattsburgh State outshot Cortland, 46-27, and won the ground ball battle by a 21-20 margin. The Cardinals also went 14-for-23 on face-offs.
 
Callahan's three assists made him the Cardinals' top point-getter for the game, while Litchauer (one goal and one assist), Belz (two goals) and Gay (one goal and one assist) each notched two points. Hubbard, Eiseman, Carroll, DeCeglia and Heimbuch also scored for Plattsburgh State. Junior face-off specialist Travis Mauro (Northport, N.Y./Northport) went 8-for-11 at the X and added a game-high six ground balls.
 
For Cortland, Panariello's five-point afternoon (two goals and three assists) led the way, while Phelps registered four points on three goals and an assist. Beresovoy scored three times, while Riley, Eddington, Nielsen and Parks all scored once.
 
Junior goalie Austin Graham (Yorktown Heights, N.Y./Yorktown) shouldered the loss, making four saves in 47:25 of action, while junior goalie Donald Tesoriero (Huntington, N.Y./Huntington) stopped four shots in 12:35 played in the fourth quarter. Cortland's junior goalie Joe Scalise earned the win with a 14-save effort.

Prior to the start of the game, Plattsburgh State honored seniors Collin Cunningham (Ballston Spa, N.Y./Ballston Spa), Belz, Eiseman, Logan Lamothe (St. Albans, Vt./Bellows Free Academy), DeCeglia, Ryan Wilson (Westfield, Mass./Westfield), Gay, Bryan O'Riley (Guilderland, N.Y./Guilderland), Joey Duckham (Poughquag, N.Y./Arlington), Matt Howard (Oswego, N.Y./Oswego), Callahan and Kyle Espejo (Poughkeepsie, N.Y./Arlington).