PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – The Plattsburgh State men's lacrosse team crawled out of a 7-1 hole and tied the game at 9-all with 5:01 left in regulation, but SUNY Oneonta netted the eventual game-winning goal with 1:28 to go, handing the Cardinals a 10-9 State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) setback on Friday afternoon at the Field House Complex.
 
Down 9-5 heading into the fourth quarter, the Cardinals netted four straight to tie the game at 9-all. Junior midfielder Zach Gill (Miller Place, N.Y./Rocky Point) cashed in on a feed from sophomore midfielder Amos Grimm (Latham, N.Y./Shaker) 1:58 into the fourth, while first-year attackman Brian Pohoreckyj (Port Washington, N.Y./Paul D. Schreiber) connected with junior attackman Dilon Smith (Lindenhurst, N.Y./Lindenhurst) for a goal nearly three minutes later. Grimm tallied unassisted midway through the period before senior attackman Connor Wolff (Niskayuna, N.Y./Niskayuna) tied the game after burying a loose ball just outside of the crease.
 
The two teams remained deadlocked until Oneonta's senior attackman Thomas McRae scored man-up on a pass from sophomore attackman David Guest with 1:28 to go in regulation. The Red Dragons won the ensuing face-off and held onto the ball before calling a timeout with 55 seconds left. Coming out of the timeout, first-year goalie Dan Clements (Putnam Valley, N.Y./Putnam Valley), who had just entered the game in net, helped force a turnover, giving the Cardinals possession with 47 seconds remaining. Plattsburgh State cleared the ball and called timeout, and after setting up its offense, in the waning moments of the game, Grimm dialed up a shot that hit the right post. The loose ball squirted into no-man's land behind the right goal line extended, and neither team was able to gain possession before time expired.
 
Plattsburgh State falls to 1-1 overall (1-1 SUNYAC) with the loss and next hosts No. 15 Union College at 4 p.m. tomorrow afternoon at the Field House Complex. Oneonta rises to 2-0 overall (2-0 SUNYAC) with the win and next hosts SUNY New Paltz on Friday, April 9, at 4 p.m.
 
McRae opened scoring for Oneonta 4:18 into the contest before Grimm connected with senior midfielder Stephen Kane (Hampden, Mass./Minnechaug Regional) 42 seconds later to tie the score. Oneonta scored four unanswered goals to close the first quarter, with sophomore attackman Connor Gallagher accounting for three of the four, including one with the extra-man advantage. Senior midfielder Ryan MacDevitt scored the Red Dragons' other goal during that run.
 
Gallagher earned an assist on a goal from freshman midfielder Matthew Krieg to spill the Red Dragons' surge in the second quarter before senior midfielder Andrew Hodgens gave Oneonta a 7-1 lead with an unassisted marker midway through the frame. Kane stopped the bleeding with a pair of goals, which were assisted by Gill and Grimm, respectively, and the two teams entered the intermission with Oneonta up, 7-3.
 
After Krieg scored man-up on a pass from Gallagher to open up the third, Grimm scored two unassisted tallies to pull the Cardinals within 8-5. Gallagher's unassisted score with 6:27 to go in the third extended the Oneonta advantage to 9-5 heading into the final regulation stanza.
 
Both teams took 44 shots, while Oneonta held a 24-22 edge in ground balls. The Red Dragons went 3-for-6 on extra-man chances, while the Cardinals were 0-for-2. Oneonta went 15-for-22 as a team at the 'X' and went 14-for-19 on clears, while Plattsburgh State was 14-for-17 in transition.
 
Grimm led the Cardinal attack with a career-high six points on three goals and three assists, while Kane scored three goals. Gill notched two points on a goal and an assist, while Wolff and Smith each scored as well. Sophomore long-stick midfielder Julian Pigliavento (Niskayuna, N.Y./Niskayuna) helped Plattsburgh State in the possession game with six ground balls and two caused turnovers, while Pohoreckyj scooped up five ground balls in addition to his assist.
 
For Oneonta, Gallagher recorded six points on four goals and two assists, while McRae and Krieg each scored twice. Sophomore face-off specialist Matthew Cronk went 8-for-10 at the 'X,' while senior midfielder Michael Benasutti scooped up four ground balls.
 
Junior goalie Christian Bassi (Windham, N.H./Kimball Union Academy) made a career-high-tying 14 saves in the loss for the Cardinals, while junior goalie Jordan Berson posted 13 stops in the win for the Red Dragons.