PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – Junior goalie Christian Bassi (Windham, N.H./Kimball Union Academy) made a career-high 20 saves, but the Plattsburgh State men's lacrosse team ended up on the losing end of a 19-6 decision to No. 15 Union College on Saturday afternoon at the Field House Complex in non-conference action.
 
Union finished with the upper hand in shots (63-21) and ground balls (50-19) while going 22-for-28 at the 'X.' On clears, the Dutchmen were 16-for-17, while the Cardinals went 18-for-28. Both teams' man-down units shined, with Union going 1-for-4 with the extra-man advantage and Plattsburgh State going 1-for-8.
 
Plattsburgh State drops to 1-2 overall with the loss and next hosts non-conference rival St. Lawrence University on Tuesday, April 6, at 7 p.m. Union rises to 1-0 overall with the win and next visits Skidmore College on Wednesday, April 7.
 
Union's junior attackman Peter Burnes and junior midfielder Kieran McGovern each scored in the opening five minutes of the contest before sophomore midfielder Amos Grimm (Latham, N.Y./Shaker) put the Cardinals on the board with 9:42 to go in the first quarter. Burnes connected with junior attackman Keaton McCann for a goal 1:21 later to give Union a 3-1 lead before senior midfielder Stephen Kane (Hampden, Mass./Minnechaug Regional) scored man-up on a feed from senior attackman Connor Wolff (Niskayuna, N.Y./Niskayuna) to trim the gap to a goal. The Dutchmen closed the first quarter with goals from senior attackman Hayden Frey (senior midfielder Aidan Flood assist), McCann (McGovern assist) and Burnes to seize a 6-2 advantage.
 
McCann and Davis each added to the Union lead in the second quarter before Grimm shook off a defender and buried an unassisted marker with 6:23 left in the second quarter. McCann scored unassisted less than a minute later before the McGovern-to-Frey connection resulted in a goal with 3:38 to go that provided the halftime tally of 10-3.
 
Union's junior midfielder Jack Donahue buried an unassisted score 3:20 into the third quarter before Kane countered with an unassisted goal of his own. After Union markers by McCann (Davis assist) and Frey (Flood assist), Kane scored his third goal of the game with 3:01 left in the third. Davis put an unassisted goal into the back of the cage for the Dutchmen with 1:47 to go, which gave Union a 14-5 cushion heading into the final stanza.
 
Union continued to fire on all cylinders in the fourth quarter, with Flood (Donahue assist) and Davis each finding the back of the net before McCann scored man-up on a feed from McGovern. Junior attackman Dilon Smith (Lindenhurst, N.Y./Lindenhurst) potted an unassisted goal with 10:19 left in the fourth to break up the run, while first-year attackman Clayton Arcuri (Davis assist) and senior defenseman Ryan Puglisi (man-down, senior long-stick midfielder Quinn Helmig assist) notched goals down the stretch for the Dutchmen.
 
Kane and Grimm led the Cardinal attack with three and two goals, respectively, while junior defenseman Justin Rocovich (Bohemia, N.Y./Connetquot) keyed the defense with three ground balls and two caused turnovers.
 
For Union, McCann scored six goals, while Davis (three goals, one assist) and McGovern (one goal, three assists) each tallied four points. Junior midfielder Sam Byrne went 20-for-25 at the 'X' and added 12 ground balls, while Helmig finished with three caused turnovers and three ground balls.
 
Bassi recorded more saves than goals allowed for the third time in as many games this season, while sophomore goalie Killian Shea-Smith (St. Albans, Vt./Tilton School [N.H.]) made one stop in 8:36 of reserve duty. For Union, sophomore Charlie Phillips made four saves.