PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – Despite jumping out to a 2-0 lead and holding a 3-2 advantage through one quarter of play, the Plattsburgh State women's lacrosse team dropped an 18-7 non-conference decision to St. Lawrence University on Tuesday afternoon at the Field House Complex.
 
Junior midfielder Caroline Noia (West Nyack, N.Y./Clarkstown South) tied the single-game program record in assists with three on the afternoon, joining senior attacker Emily Caoili (Lagrangeville, N.Y./Arlington) at the top of the list in the statistical category. Caoili has achieved the feat twice, both of which have come against Norwich University.
 
St. Lawrence finished with a 32-18 edge in shots and a 20-15 cushion in ground balls in addition to going 24-for-26 on clears. Plattsburgh State held a 16-13 advantage in draw controls and went 14-for-17 on clears.
 
Plattsburgh State falls to 1-2 overall with the loss and next hosts Clarkson University on Tuesday, March 22, at 4 p.m. St. Lawrence rises to 4-0 overall with the win and next visits SUNY Brockport on Friday, March 18, at 3 p.m.
 
Noia connected with junior midfielder Lindsay Guzzetta (East Islip, N.Y./East Islip) 39 seconds into the game, while first-year attacker/midfielder Caitlin Nash (Patchogue, N.Y./Patchogue-Medford) scored 2:18 later to put the Cardinals out in front, 2-0, forcing a St. Lawrence timeout. The Saints countered with a goal by senior attacker Jaime Allain midway through the period, while senior attacker Emily Caoili (Lagrangeville, N.Y./Arlington) scored 37 seconds later to give Plattsburgh State a 3-1 edge, while junior defender/midfielder Jacqui Cloutier scored for the Saints to cut the gap to 3-2 through 15 minutes of play.
 
St. Lawrence pulled away for good in the second quarter, going on an eight-goal run before Nash scored woman-up on a pass from first-year attacker Melanie Winters (Montpelier, Vt./Montpelier) with 3:47 left in the period to break up the Saints' scoring spree. St. Lawrence scored two more goals in the final minute to take a 12-4 advantage into halftime.
 
The Saints scored the first four goals of the third quarter before Guzzetta buried a feed from Noia with 2:50 left in the period, as the Cardinals trailed 16-5 after three frames. First-year attacker Maddy Garcia (New Paltz, N.Y./New Paltz) scored unassisted 21 seconds into the fourth quarter, while St. Lawrence added two more goals before Noia connected with Guzzetta for a highlight-reel, behind-the-back goal with 2:11 remaining for the final score of the contest.
 
Guzzetta scored three goals, while Nash tallied twice. Senior midfielder Davina Gyedu (Farmingdale, N.Y./Farmingdale) controlled five draws, while Noia and junior defender/midfielder Emma McLaughlin (Northport, N.Y./Northport) notched five ground balls and three caused turnovers, respectively.
 
For St. Lawrence, junior attacker Rachel Burke led the way with three goals, while Cloutier (two goals, one assist) and senior midfielder Isabel Silvia (one goal, two assists) also registered three points.
 
Sophomore goalie Johanna Malone (Levittown, N.Y./Division Avenue) turned aside five shots in the loss for the Cardinals, while junior goalie Raelynn Bovenzi, sophomore goalie Courtney Lynn and junior goalie Paige Glasgow combined for five saves in the win for the Saints.