CORTLAND, N.Y. – For the first time in the 19-year history of the Plattsburgh State men's lacrosse program, the Cardinals can call themselves State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) champions. Second-seeded Plattsburgh State achieved that by defeating top-seeded and fourth-ranked SUNY Cortland, 10-6, at the Cortland Stadium Complex on Saturday afternoon in the SUNYAC Tournament final.
 
It also marked the Cardinals' first-ever win over Cortland in 22 meetings between the two teams in a series that dates back to 2000. The win was a long time coming for Plattsburgh State, which has played Cortland close in recent years. The Cardinals fell to the Red Dragons in the SUNYAC Tournament final in 2013, 2014 and 2015 before the fourth time was a charm on Saturday. The win ended a streak of nine consecutive SUNYAC titles for Cortland.
 
Junior attackman Ryan Hubbard (Aquebogue, N.Y./Riverhead) was named the SUNYAC Tournament MVP, and joining Hubbard on the All-Tournament Team were junior goalie Austin Graham (Yorktown Heights, N.Y./Yorktown), sophomore attackman Jake Carroll (East Northport, N.Y./Northport), junior face-off specialist Joe Eiseman (Farmingville, N.Y./Sachem East), senior attackman Ryan Callahan (Miller Place, N.Y./Miller Place) and senior long-stick midfielder Kyle Espejo (Poughkeepsie, N.Y./Arlington).

With the win, Plattsburgh State earns the SUNYAC's automatic bid into the NCAA Division III Tournament and will learn of its placement in the bracket during the selection show tomorrow night on www.ncaa.com/liveschedule at 9 p.m. This will mark the first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance for the Cardinals, who move to 12-5 overall with the victory. Cortland drops to 15-2 overall with the loss and will likely be one of the first at-large teams selected when the bracket is unveiled tomorrow night.
 
The Cardinals never trailed in the contest, relying on a strong defensive effort to come away with the win. Cortland outshot Plattsburgh State, 37-24, while the Cardinals picked up 33 ground balls to the Red Dragons' 28. Cortland won 11-of-20 face-offs, and Plattsburgh State went 16-for-20 on clear attempts versus the Red Dragons' 13-for-16 performance in transition. The Cardinals went 2-for-5 with the extra-man advantage, while Cortland was unable to cash in on its lone extra-man opportunity.
 
Callahan put the Cardinals on the board with 8:39 left in the first quarter, scoring a man-up goal on a feed from senior midfielder Mike Gay (Ronkonkoma, N.Y./Connetquot). Cortland answered just 31 seconds later, with senior midfielder Mike Hart finding the back of the cage on a feed from junior attackman Devin Phelps. With 1:04 left in the first quarter, Hubbard tallied to give the Cardinals a 2-1 advantage through 15 minutes of play.
 
Cortland's junior midfielder Nate Beresovoy knotted the tally at 2-all to kick off scoring in the second quarter, while Carroll and junior midfielder Brandon Heimbuch (Geneva, Ill./Geneva) each scored to give Plattsburgh State an advantage it would not relinquish the remainder of the afternoon. Heimbuch assisted on Carroll's goal, which came midway through the period. Phelps cut the gap to one late in the second quarter on a pass from junior attackman Thomas McNaney to provide the halftime score of 4-3.
 
Callahan relied on a pass from sophomore defenseman Chris Rupp (Sayville, N.Y./Sayville) to put Plattsburgh State back on top by two midway through the period, with Rupp's assist serving as his first career point. With 28 seconds left in the third, Hubbard scored unassisted to make it a 6-3 game heading into the final regulation period.
 
Beresovoy scored 16 seconds into the fourth quarter to draw Cortland within two, while Gay retaliated 36 seconds later to return the Cardinal lead to three. McNaney then ripped a shot into the back of the net to whittle the deficit to two before Callahan connected with Carroll for a goal 38 seconds later to extend the Plattsburgh State edge back out to three at 8-5. Phelps tallied midway through the period to make it a two-goal game once again, while Plattsburgh State put the game on ice late in the fourth with two unanswered goals. Carroll scored on a Hubbard feed with 2:12 left in regulation, while Hubbard put a ball into the back of an empty net with 10 seconds left.
 
Hubbard led the Cardinals with four points (three goals and one assist), while Callahan and Carroll each posted three points. Callahan scored two goals and added an assist, while Carroll scored three times. Gay and Heimbuch each tallied a goal and an assist, while Rupp dished out an assist to round out Plattsburgh State's point-getters. Every starter for the Cardinals picked up a ground ball, led by Espejo and Eiseman, who each totaled five. Eiseman went 9-for-17 at the X.
 
For Cortland, Phelps registered three points on two goals and an assist, while McNaney and Beresovoy each logged two points. McNaney had a goal and an assist, while Beresovoy scored twice. Hart also scored a goal for the Red Dragons and went 11-for-17 on face-offs. Senior defenseman Dave Foster led the defense with four caused turnovers.
 
Graham turned aside 13 shots in the win for Plattsburgh State to rises to 8-3 with the victory. Junior goalie Joe Scalise made six saves in the loss for Cortland.