CANTON, N.Y. – Despite owning a 7-3 halftime lead, the Plattsburgh State men's lacrosse team was unable to hold on in a 10-7 loss to No. 19 St. Lawrence University on Wednesday evening in non-conference action at North Country Field.
 
The Saints are ranked at No. 19 in the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA) Division III Top-20 Poll.
 
St. Lawrence finished with a 36-21 edge in shots, including a 17-2 margin in a tide-turning third quarter. The Saints also won the ground ball battle (25-22) and went 11-for-21 at the X. Plattsburgh State was 9-for-15 on clears, while St. Lawrence was 10-for-14. The Cardinals' man-down defense was on point in denying the Saints a goal in their five chances with the extra man. Plattsburgh State went 2-for-5 on its extra-man opportunities.
 
Plattsburgh State drops to 4-5 overall with the loss and faces State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) nemesis SUNY Cortland on Saturday, April 6, at 1 p.m. in a rematch of each of the past two conference championship games. Prior to the start of the contest, the Cardinals will honor their seniors in a Senior Day ceremony. St. Lawrence rises to 8-1 overall with the win and visits Skidmore College next on Saturday, April 6, at 3 p.m.
 
Senior attackman Jake Carroll (East Northport, N.Y./Northport) put the Cardinals on the board 1:58 into the contest before St. Lawrence's sophomore face-off specialist Zachary Prime tallied nine seconds later to knot the tally at 1-all. Plattsburgh State then scored five straight goals stretching through the remainder of the first quarter and the beginning of the second.
 
Junior midfielder Kevin Litchauer (Poughkeepsie, N.Y./Arlington) scored on a feed from Carroll to give the Cardinals the lead, and a goal from junior attackman Jack Mullen (Long Beach, N.Y./Kellenberg Memorial) that came off an assist from senior defenseman Chris Rupp (Sayville, N.Y./Sayville) staked Plattsburgh State to a 3-1 advantage. Sophomore attackman Stephen Kane (Hampden, Mass./Minnechaug Regional) scored man-up on a pass from senior midfielder Kevin Murphy (Sayville, N.Y./Sayville) at 7:56 of the first quarter to put the Cardinals on top, 4-1, which held up through the end of the opening stanza.
 
Sophomore midfielder James Sherwood (Manorville, N.Y./Eastport-South Manor) scored 46 seconds into the second, while Mullen capped off the run with a man-up goal that came on an assist from sophomore attackman Connor Wolff (Niskayuna, N.Y./Niskayuna) at 10:19 of the second quarter. St. Lawrence received a pair of goals from junior attackman Mike Donnelly, the first of which was assisted by junior midfielder Harrison Koch, to draw within 6-3, but Kane cashed in on a pass from senior short-stick defensive midfielder Nick Della Ratta (Huntington, N.Y./St. Anthony's) on a two-on-none fastbreak to give Plattsburgh State a 7-3 halftime lead.
 
The Saints scored seven unanswered goals in the second half to come away with the win. Senior attackman Conor Caffrey scored unassisted at 11:28 of the third quarter before Donnelly converted on a feed from junior attackman Brian Cunningham just eight seconds later. Caffrey and sophomore attackman Jack Hennessey both scored to tie the game, while Cunningham netted the game-winner on a pass from freshman midfielder Ben Murtagh with 1:14 left in the third. Cunningham and junior midfielder Kyle Gagne added insurance in the fourth quarter, with Gagne's marker being assisted by Hennessey.
 
Kane (two goals), Mullen (two goals) and Carroll (one goal, one assist) each recorded multiple points to lead the Cardinal attack, while Litchauer and Sherwood each scored once. Murphy, Rupp, Wolff and Della Ratta all earned assists. Defensively, junior long-stick midfielder Kyle Smith (Holbrook, N.Y./Sachem East) led the way with six ground balls and four caused turnovers, while Della Ratta collected five ground balls. At the X, senior face-off specialist David Force (Albany, N.Y./Christian Brothers Academy) was 9-for-18.
 
For St. Lawrence, Donnelly (three goals) and Cunningham (two goals, one assist) each notched three points, while Caffrey scored twice and Hennessey netted a goal and added an assist. Gagne and Prime also scored, with Prime finishing with a 11-for-21 mark at the X. Defensively, junior defenseman Tyler Burns and sophomore defenseman Brian Gannon each caused three turnovers.
 
Sophomore goalie Joe Falco (Middletown, N.Y./Valley Central) backstopped the Cardinals' defensive unit with an 11-save performance in the loss, while junior goalie Alex Terry and senior goalie Jordan Eichholz combined for four stops in the win for the Saints.