CANTON, N.Y. – First-year midfielder Caitlin Nash (West Nyack, N.Y./Clarkstown South) scored her first two collegiate goals and senior attacker Emily Caoili (Lagrangeville, N.Y./Arlington) notched three points on a goal and two assists, but the Plattsburgh State women's lacrosse team fell to non-conference SUNY Canton, 16-8, in the season opener for both teams on Wednesday afternoon at the SUNY Canton Turf.
 
Canton outshot Plattsburgh State, 35-18, and outgained the Cardinals in draw controls, 22-6. Plattsburgh State held a slight 25-24 advantage in ground balls and went 3-for-8 on free-position shots. On clears, the Cardinals were 18-for-29, while the Kangaroos were 14-for-24.
 
Plattsburgh State falls to 0-1 overall with the loss and next hosts Norwich University in its home opener on Tuesday, March 8, at 4 p.m. Canton rises to 1-0 overall with the win and next visits Fredonia on Saturday, March 5, at 12 p.m.
 
Canton opened scoring with just 1:27 gone in the first quarter when first-year midfielder Maddy Caron scored on a feed from junior midfielder Samantha Dayter, while Caoili assisted on a goal by junior defender/midfielder Emma McLaughlin (Northport, N.Y./Northport) with 4:46 remaining in the opening stanza to tie the game. Canton's sophomore midfielder Lindsey Wunder buried an unassisted goal with 3:09 left to hand the Kangaroos a 2-1 advantage through 15 minutes of play.
 
First-year attacker Hannah Reed scored a woman-down goal for Canton just 20 seconds into the second quarter, while Dayter extended the Canton edge to 4-1 midway through the frame. Nash scored her first collegiate goal with 8:36 left in the second before the Kangaroos responded with six unanswered. Dayter scored three of the next four goals, two of which came woman down, while Caron also netted a woman-down goal. A woman-up goal by Caron and a tally by senior attacker Stephanie Thayer put Canton in front, 10-2, but junior attacker/midfielder Kate Kennedy (Waddington, N.Y./Massena) scored seven seconds before the halftime intermission to stop the run.
 
Dayter and Thayer scored the first two goals of the third quarter with 5:12 and 3:48 remaining, respectively, while Nash scored with 1:37 left in the third to whittle the deficit to 12-4 heading into the final quarter.
 
McLaughlin scored the first goal of the fourth quarter 2:55 into the period, while Dayter countered 17 seconds later. Junior midfielder Lindsay Guzzetta (East Islip, N.Y./East Islip) found the back of the net on a feed from junior midfielder Caroline Noia (West Nyack, N.Y./Clarkstown South), while first-year attacker Maddy Garcia (New Paltz, N.Y./New Paltz) scored her first collegiate goal to trim the gap to 13-7. Dayter scored twice and Caron tallied once in a three-goal spurt for Canton before Caoili spelled the final score with a goal just 1:38 before the final horn.
 
Defensively, the Cardinals were led by sophomore defender Sam Lombardi (East Atlantic Beach, N.Y./Kellenberg Memorial), who caused five turnovers and scooped up six ground balls. Lombardi's five caused turnovers are tied for the second most in a single game in program history.
 
For Canton, Dayter had 10 points on eight goals and two assists in addition to controlling 17 draws.
 
Sophomore goalie Johanna Malone (Levittown, N.Y./Division Avenue) and senior goalie Alexa Cassidy (Warwick, N.Y./Warwick Valley) split time in net, with Malone making eight stops and Cassidy turning aside five shots. Canton's senior goalie Madison Leary made eight saves in the victory.