MIDDLEBURY, Vt. – The Plattsburgh State men's lacrosse team sustained a 30-8 loss at the hands of Middlebury College in non-conference action on Tuesday afternoon at Alumni Stadium.
 
Middlebury outshot Plattsburgh State, 84-34, went 19-for-21 on clears, held a 50-28 edge in ground balls and went 32-for-42 at the face-off 'X.' The Cardinals were 2-for-8 on extra-man opportunities, while the Panthers were 2-for-6.
 
Plattsburgh State falls to 2-2 overall with the loss and next faces Wheaton (Mass.) College on Saturday, March 14, at 1 p.m. at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy. Middlebury rises to 3-0 overall with the win.
 
While the Panthers struck first with a goal by junior midfielder Alderik Vanderheyde 4:10 into the contest, the Cardinals countered with scores by sophomore attackman Dilon Smith (Lindenhurst, N.Y./Lindenhurst) and junior midfielder Stephen Kane (Hampden, Mass./Minnechaug Regional) to take a 2-1 advantage. That lead wound up being short lived, as Middlebury tied the game less than a minute later when Vanderheyde connected with senior attackman Chase Goree for a goal, and the Panthers rattled off five more consecutive goals, with senior attackman Michael McCormack staking Middlebury to a 7-2 advantage 42 seconds into the second quarter. Senior midfielder Kevin Litchauer (Poughkeepsie, N.Y./Arlington) scored a man-up goal on a feed from Smith to trim the gap to 7-3, but the Panthers broke the game open with eight unanswered goals. Middlebury led 15-4 at halftime.
 
While Litchauer and Kane (man-up, assisted by junior attackman Connor Wolff [Niskayuna, N.Y./Niskayuna]) bookended scoring in the third quarter, Middlebury buried six goals in between to take a 22-6 lead into the final quarter. The Panthers continued to fire on all cylinders offensively, outscoring the Cardinals, 8-2, in the fourth quarter to post the 30-8 victory.
 
Litchauer, Kane and Smith all posted two goals, while freshman attackman Kieran Rowley (Long Beach, N.Y./Long Beach) and senior midfielder Daniel Bonafede (Churchville, N.Y./Churchville-Chili) each scored once. Senior long-stick midfielder Kyle Smith (Holbrook, N.Y./Sachem East) scooped up eight ground balls and caused two turnovers to lead Plattsburgh State defensively.
 
For Middlebury, 13 different student-athletes scored, led by sophomore attackman Tyler Forbes' five goals. Senior attackman A.J. Kucinski and McCormack tallied six points apiece, while senior midfielder Jake Madnick went 29-for-33 at the 'X' and scooped up 24 ground balls.
 
Sophomore goalie Christian Bassi (Windham, N.H./Kimball Union Academy) tied a career high in saves with 14, while three Panther goalies combined for 13 stops.