SWARTHMORE, Pa. – Despite taking a 1-0 lead through one quarter of play and outscoring Swarthmore College, 4-2, in the fourth quarter, the Plattsburgh State men's lacrosse team fell by a 9-5 final to the non-conference Garnet on Wednesday afternoon at Clothier Field.
 
Senior attackman Ryan Hubbard (Aquebogue, N.Y./Riverhead) finished with four points for the Cardinals, scoring three goals and adding an assist.
 
While Plattsburgh State finished with a 35-32 edge in shots, Swarthmore went 14-for-18 on face-offs and held a 24-13 cushion in ground balls. The Garnet were 1-for-3 on extra-man opportunities, while the Cardinals were 0-for-2 with the extra attacker.
 
Plattsburgh State drops to 1-4 overall with the loss and next visits Middlebury College on Tuesday, March 20, at 4 p.m. Swarthmore rises to 4-1 overall with the win and next visits Drew University on Saturday, March 17, at 1 p.m.
 
Hubbard scored the lone goal of the first quarter, finding the back of the net unassisted with 2:43 remaining in the frame.
 
The Garnet answered with a 7-0 run that spanned two quarters. Sophomore midfielder Zander Levitz scored 2:45 into the second quarter to knot the tally at 1-all, while sophomore attackman Austin Chang converted on a pass from freshman attackman Mason Evarts 1:55 later to take the lead. Junior midfielder Dylan Rittenhouse netted a man-up goal on a feed from senior attackman Cam Marsh with 3:49 to go before the half to give Swarthmore a 3-1 advantage at the intermission.
 
The Marsh-to-Rittenhouse connection worked again 3:11 into the third quarter before sophomore defenseman Jack Belluche tallied 12 seconds later to make it a 5-1 game. Just 13 seconds after that, sophomore attackman Jake Ross converted on a pass from Chang, while Marsh found twine with 3:35 left in the third quarter to cap the run and give Swarthmore a 7-1 lead.
 
Hubbard scored 1:45 into the fourth quarter to put the Cardinals back on the board, cashing in on a pass from freshman attackman Stephen Kane (Hampden, Mass./Minnechaug Regional). It marked Kane's first career assist at Plattsburgh State. Chang scored for Swarthmore nearly three minutes later on a feed from sophomore midfielder Nathaniel Johns, while Hubbard fired back midway through the period with an unassisted goal.
 
Levitz connected with Marsh with 5:08 to go in regulation to make it a 9-3 Garnet lead, while freshman midfielder Justin Wise (Niskayuna, N.Y./Niskayuna) and Kane each scored with less than two minutes left on the clock to draw the Cardinals closer in the 9-5 Swarthmore win. Wise's goal was assisted by Hubbard, while Kane's was the first of his career.
 
Senior defenseman Tyler Copius (Seaford, N.Y./Seaford) and senior defensive midfielder Nicco Narbutas (Holbrook, N.Y./Miller Place) each scooped up two ground balls to help lead the Cardinals, while junior defenseman Chris Rupp (Sayville, N.Y./Sayville) caused three turnovers. Freshman face-off specialist Andrew Gunther (Guilderland, N.Y./Guilderland) went 3-for-8 on face-offs to pace Plattsburgh State at the X.
 
For Swarthmore, Rittenhouse, Marsh and Chang all had two goals, while Marsh also added two assists and three ground balls. Freshman midfielder Ryan Izquierdo collected nine ground balls and dominated on face-offs, going 14-for-18.
 
Freshman goalie Kyle Dodge (Northport, N.Y./Northport) made nine saves in his first collegiate appearance in goal for the Cardinals, while senior goalie John Calia turned aside 15 shots in the winning effort for the Garnet.