CANTON, N.Y. – The Plattsburgh State women's lacrosse team took the field in its inaugural game as a program Wednesday afternoon at SUNY Canton, falling by a 14-4 final in non-conference action despite scoring each of the final three goals of the contest.
 
"Even though we started off slow—I think it had to do with the nerves of it being the first game as well as the cold weather—the last six minutes of the game were really great for us," head coach Julia Decker said. "It was very promising and was the loosest we were all day. To see us play relaxed and together like that was definitely exciting moving forward and looking ahead to our game on Saturday."
 
Plattsburgh State excelled on the draw, going 12-8 in draw controls, led by freshman midfielder Reece Wiley's (Binghamton, N.Y./Chenango Forks) five and freshman midfielder/defender Claire Wiley's (Whitesboro, N.Y./Whitesboro) four. Much of that success has to do with Claire Wiley representing the Cardinals on the draw, according to Decker.
 
"It's exciting when Claire Wiley is taking the draw," Decker said. "She looks to be dominant out there and either draws to herself or gets it to her teammates."
 
Plattsburgh State drops to 0-1 overall with the loss, and next visits The Sage Colleges on Saturday, March 9, at 1 p.m. Canton rises to 2-0 overall with the win and next takes on Fitchburg State in Englewood, Fla., on Tuesday, March 12, at 10 a.m.
 
While Canton's sophomore midfielder Devin Kelly scored the first goal of the game 2:10 in, freshman attacker/midfielder Allie Vangas (Cornwall-on-Hudson, N.Y./Cornwall) etched her name in the annals of the department's history as the first Cardinal women's lacrosse student-athlete to score a goal, tallying 4:31 into the first half.
 
The Kangaroos proceeded to score 13 unanswered goals spanning from 20:48 left in the first half to 21:25 remaining in the second. After nearly 15 minutes of scoreless action, Claire Wiley scored her first collegiate goal on a feed from junior attacker/midfielder/defender Leah Herman (Youngstown, N.Y./Wilson) with 5:46 left in regulation, while Reece Wiley buried her first collegiate marker 1:40 later. Junior attacker/defender Kaitlyn Boyea-Guynup (Plattsburgh, N.Y./Saranac) connected with Vangas for the final goal of the contest with 1:41 remaining.
 
Canton outshot Plattsburgh State by a 27-12 margin and went 6-for-7 on free-position shots. The Cardinals, meanwhile, scored on one of their two free-position shot attempts. In transition, Canton was 16-for-21 on clears, while Plattsburgh State was 10-for-20. Both teams scooped up 20 ground balls.
 
Vangas paced the Cardinal attack with two goals, while Reece Wiley and Claire Wiley each scored once. Boyea-Guynup and Herman each tallied assists, which marked the first helpers of their respective collegiate careers. Claire Wiley helped Plattsburgh State obtain possession with four ground balls and four draw controls, while Reece Wiley won five draws, collected three ground balls and caused three turnovers.
 
For Canton, Kelly had six points on four goals and two assists, while senior attacker MaryClare Bowes tallied four points on three goals and one assist. Junior attacker Logan Bush notched three points on a goal and two assists, while sophomore attacker Erin Parks and freshman attacker Stephanie Thayer each scored twice. Senior defender Mia Jermano and senior midfielder Jessica Pele also entered the goal column for the Kangaroos. Jermano and freshman goalie Madison Leary each collected three ground balls, while Bowes wrapped up the game with three caused turnovers.
 
Freshman goalie Alexa Cassidy (Warwick, N.Y./Warwick) made six saves in goal for the Cardinals in her collegiate debut, while Leary and sophomore goalie Nicole Piskorowski combined to make five stops in the victory for the Kangaroos.