TROY, N.Y. – Despite staying within two goals of the No. 17 Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute at the half, the Plattsburgh State men's lacrosse team fell, 14-7, to RPI in non-conference action at East Campus Stadium.
 
RPI finished with a 39-28 edge in shots and went 15-for-16 on clears, while Plattsburgh State was 15-for-19 in on the ride. The Engineers won the ground ball battle, 33-29, while both teams won 12 face-offs. The Cardinals were 2-for-4 on extra-man opportunities, while the Engineers were 2-for-6.
 
Plattsburgh State drops to 1-2 overall with the loss and next faces the University of Scranton on Saturday, March 16, at 1 p.m. at Half Hollow Hills High School East in Dix Hills, N.Y. RPI rises to 5-0 overall with the win and takes on Ohio Wesleyan University next on Saturday, March 16, at Marywood University.
 
The Cardinals jumped in front just 52 seconds into the game on a goal by sophomore midfielder James Sherwood (Manorville, N.Y./Eastport-South Manor), but the Engineers got tallies from junior attackman Owen Putman off a loose ball at 12:30, senior attackman JT Kelly on a bouncing shot at 10:54, Putman following a steal by freshman attackman Cooper Urban at 12:49 of the second and Urban on a low shot 2:19 later for a 4-1 lead.
 
Senior midfielder Kevin Murphy (Sayville, N.Y./Sayville) answered 59 seconds after Urban's goal, and junior attackman Jack Mullen (Long Beach, N.Y./Kellenberg Memorial) scored man-up less than a minute after that to pull the visitors to within 4-3. Putman and Urban countered, but Plattsburgh State took the momentum into the locker room at halftime after Mullen scored as time expired. Sophomore goalie Joe Falco (Middletown, N.Y./Valley Central) made a save, which led to a ground ball pickup by junior long-stick midfielder Kyle Smith (Holbrook, N.Y./Sachem East), who sent a pass to sophomore defenseman Max Burgio (Niskayuna, N.Y./Niskayuna) at midfield. Burgio connected with Mullen, who was just outside the goal crease and released the shot just before the half ended for his second of the game and fourth of the season. 

RPI went back ahead by three goals 38 seconds into the third quarter, but Mullen notched his third of the contest—and his second man-up—to make it 7-5 with 5:35 to play in the frame. Urban scored before the quarter ended and the Engineers went on to add three more to start the fourth for an 11-5 lead with 8:30 to play. Kelly had two of the goals and senior midfielder Lucas Bastarache, who set up Kelly's second in that span, scored the other.
 
Mullen found sophomore attackman Stephen Kane (Hampden, Mass./Minnechaug Regional) at 6:53 of the fourth quarter, but Urban's 14th of the year gave RPI a 12-6 lead. Senior attackman Jake Carroll (East Northport, N.Y./Northport) notched one for Plattsburgh State before RPI's Kelly and Putman closed out the scoring with their 13th and 15th of the season, respectively.
 
Mullen scored a career-high three goals and added an assist to pace the Cardinal offense. Carroll (one goal, one assist) and junior midfielder Kevin Litchauer (Poughkeepsie, N.Y./Arlington) (two assists) also registered multiple points, while Murphy and Sherwood each scored once. Kane and Smith each collected four ground balls, while Burgio caused two turnovers. Senior face-off specialist David Force (Albany, N.Y./Christian Brothers Academy) went 10-for-18 at the X.
 
For RPI, Kelly led the way with six points on four goals and two assists, while Putnam and Urban each tallied five points on four goals and one assist. Bastarache scored twice and added an assist to round out the Engineers' goal scorers in the contest. Putnam and sophomore midfielder Tyler Hancock each picked up five ground balls, while senior defenseman Keaton Ackermann caused three turnovers. Hancock went 11-for-21 on face-offs.
 
Falco made 11 saves in the loss for Plattsburgh State, while sophomore goalie Brian Doughty and freshman goalie Kyle Botsford combined to make seven stops in goal for the Engineers.