PLYMOUTH, N.H. – The Plattsburgh State men's lacrosse team held off a third-quarter run by Plymouth State University, defeating the Panthers, 14-11, in non-conference action Wednesday afternoon at Panther Field.
 
The Cardinals finished with a 46-38 edge in shots, went 18-for-19 on clears and won 19 of 29 face-offs. Both teams scooped up 28 ground balls, while Plattsburgh State was 1-for-2 on extra-man opportunities. Plymouth State was 2-for-5 with the extra-man advantage.
 
Plattsburgh State rises to 2-3 overall with the win and next visits Hartwick College on Saturday, March 19, at 3 p.m. Plymouth State falls to 1-4 overall with the loss and next hosts New England College on Saturday, March 19, at 1 p.m.
 
Senior midfielder Stephen Kane (Hampden, Mass./Minnechaug Regional) opened scoring 59 seconds into the contest on a pass from junior attackman Michael Swift (New Rochelle, N.Y./New Rochelle) before Plymouth State leveled the score at 1-all with a man-up strike from senior attackman Riley Roy (junior midfielder Nick Drew assist). Junior midfielder Owen Lorenzetti (Seneca Falls, N.Y./Mynderse Academy) and Kane each scored unassisted to close out the first quarter.
 
The Panthers cut the gap to one when junior attackman Mike Fleury tallied on a pass from Drew, while Swift scored unassisted and Kane buried a goal on a feed from senior midfielder Zach Gill (Miller Place, N.Y./Rocky Point) to put Plattsburgh State up, 5-2. The Panthers got one back when sophomore defenseman Marc Hirshom scored midway through the second quarter, while Gill countered with an unassisted goal less than a minute later. Plymouth State's sophomore attackman Crosby Fay rattled the back of the cage with an assist from sophomore midfielder Nolan Burke before Kane scored with seven seconds left to hand Plattsburgh State a 7-4 halftime lead.
 
Plattsburgh State scored three goals in the first 1:23 of the third quarter to build a 10-4 advantage, its largest of the contest. Gill netted a man-up goal on a pass from senior midfielder Billy Lombardi (East Atlantic Beach, N.Y./Kellenberg Memorial) before junior long-stick midfielder Julian Pigliavento (Niskayuna, N.Y./Niskayuna) scored his first collegiate goal on a feed from sophomore short-stick defensive midfielder Logan Jones (Bayport, N.Y./Bayport-Blue Point). The Cardinals then won the ensuing face-off, and Swift connected with first-year attackman Donald Woods (Rocky Point, N.Y./Rocky Point) to complete the run. The Panthers answered back with five unanswered goals, and Fleury buried a feed from Burke to pull the home team within one at 10-9. Gill halted the run by scoring on a pass from senior midfielder Andrew Braverman (Sayville, N.Y./Sayville), while Plymouth State's Drew trimmed the deficit back to one with a goal with 1:49 remaining in the third quarter.
 
The Cardinals pulled away in the fourth, with Pigliavento capitalizing on tic-tac-toe passing (Woods assist), Kane striking on a pass from Swift and Swift scoring on a feed from Lombardi. While Fleury scored for the Panthers with 4:12 remaining, Plattsburgh State was able to possess the ball for the majority of the stretch run to hold on for the win.
 
Kane led Plattsburgh State with five goals, while Swift recorded a career-high five points on two goals and three assists. Gill notched four points on three goals and an assist, while Pigliavento scored twice and scooped up four ground balls. Senior face-off specialist Daniel Umbro (Harrison, N.Y./Harrison) excelled at the face-off dot, going 18-for-24 on draws while collecting eight ground balls.
 
For Plymouth State, Fleury registered five points on four goals and an assist, while first-year face-off specialist Leif Charbonneau went 8-for-17 at the 'X' and scooped up six ground balls.
 
Senior goalie Christian Bassi (Windham, N.H./Kimball Union Academy) earned the win for the Cardinals with a 10-save effort, while sophomore goalie Owen McNichols stopped 13 shots in the loss for the Panthers.