GALLOWAY, N.J. – Despite going 19-for-29 on face-offs and winning the ground ball battle (36-33), the Plattsburgh State men's lacrosse team dropped a 17-10 non-conference decision to Stockton University on Wednesday afternoon at Stockton Turf Field.
 
Stockton finished with a 55-35 edge in shots and went 13-for-16 on clears, while Plattsburgh State cleared the ball successfully 17 times in 24 attempts. The Cardinals were 2-for-10 on extra-man opportunities, while the Ospreys were 3-for-8.
 
Plattsburgh State drops to 1-4 overall with the loss and next visits Castleton University tomorrow at 4 p.m. in a game that was rescheduled from Feb. 23. Stockton rises to 6-1 overall with the win and next visits Misericordia University on Saturday, March 23, at 1 p.m.
 
Sophomore midfielder James Sherwood (Manorville, N.Y./Eastport-South Manor) put the Cardinals on the board with 2:52 gone in the first quarter before Stockton received goals from freshman attackman Dante Poli, sophomore attackman Luc Swedlund and junior midfielder J.J. McKenna to take a 3-1 lead. Junior midfielder/attackman Erik Anderson provided the assist on both Swedlund and McKenna's goals. Junior midfielder Kevin Litchauer (Poughkeepsie, N.Y./Arlington) scored unassisted with 4:44 left in the first quarter to draw the Cardinals within 3-2, but the Ospreys went on a 4-0 tear to open up a 7-2 advantage. Junior midfielder Eric Ellis scored man-up on a pass from Anderson with 3:08 to go in the first, while Ellis found Swedlund for a goal just 29 seconds later. Anderson converted on a Poli pass with 51 seconds in the first quarter before Swedlund capped off the run 1:28 into the second quarter with a goal on an Anderson feed.
 
Plattsburgh State scored four of the next five goals to pull within 8-6. Sophomore attackman Connor Wolff (Niskayuna, N.Y./Niskayuna) connected with Litchauer for a goal to start the run, while sophomore attackman Stephen Kane (Hampden, Mass./Minnechaug Regional) buried a man-up goal on a Litchauer feed to make it 7-4. Anderson scored unassisted for Stockton to slow the momentum, but goals by senior midfielder Kevin Murphy (Sayville, N.Y./Sayville) and senior attackman Jake Carroll (East Northport, N.Y./Northport) completed the tear. Murphy's goal was assisted by Litchauer, while Carroll scored with the extra-man advantage on a feed from Wolff. Sophomore midfielder Eric D'Arminio scored unassisted with 6:59 left in the second quarter to give Stockton at 9-6 lead that wound up being the halftime score.
 
Swedlund scored on a pass from Anderson and junior attackman Joey Tiernan buried a man-up goal on an assist from senior attackman Colin Shea to build the Osprey advantage to 11-6 midway through the third quarter. Murphy tallied unassisted with 6:33 to go in the third to bring the Cardinals back within four, but Ellis ripped a shot into the back of the net on an Anderson feed with 3:01 left in the third. Murphy made good on a Litchauer pass with 48 seconds left in the period to trim the gap to 12-8 heading into the fourth quarter.
 
D'Arminio found Swedlund for a goal 38 seconds into the fourth before Litchauer cashed in on a pass from freshman attackman Zach Gill (Miller Place, N.Y./Rocky Point) with 10:51 to go in regulation. Gill's assist marked his first collegiate point. Stockton put the game out of reach with three straight goals, beginning with a Swedlund score on a D'Arminio assist. D'Arminio posted his third assist of the quarter by setting up Anderson for a man-up goal, while Swedlund buried a goal on a Poli feed with 4:22 remaining in regulation. Murphy scored unassisted for Plattsburgh State with 3:59 to go, while McKenna punctuated the game with a goal that came 23 seconds before the final horn. Sophomore midfielder Peter Burke earned the assist on McKenna's score.
 
Litchauer led the Cardinal attack with a career-high six points on three goals and three assists, while Murphy scored a career-high four goals. Litchauer's three goals established a career-high, while his three assists matched a career-high. Wolff tallied two assists, while Kane, Carroll and Sherwood all scored once. Gill distributed one assist. Senior face-off specialist David Force (Albany, N.Y./Christian Brothers Academy) went 19-for-28 at the X and scooped up seven ground balls, while sophomore defensive midfielder Justin Wise (Niskayuna, N.Y./Niskayuna) caused three turnovers.
 
For Stockton, Anderson paced the offense with nine points on three goals and six assists, while Swedlund scored seven goals. D'Arminio (one goal, three assists), Ellis (two goals, one assist), Poli (one goal, two assists) and McKenna (two goals) all tallied multiple points, and Tiernan scored once. Shea and Burke each dished out an assist. Senior defenseman Colin Wharton reinforced the defense with six ground balls and four caused turnovers.
 
Sophomore goalie Joe Falco (Middletown, N.Y./Valley Central) made 16 saves in 50:48 of work, while senior goalie Jack Hayes (Thornwood, N.Y./Westlake) stopped two shots in the final 9:12 of the contest. Senior goalie Justin Ruiz turned aside 14 shots in the win for Stockton.