BUFFALO, N.Y. – Despite holding the upper hand in shots (43-22), ground balls (27-22) and draw controls (15-10) while going 17-for-18 on clears, the Plattsburgh State women's lacrosse team fell to Buffalo State, 13-8, in State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) action Saturday afternoon at Coyer Field.
 
Sophomore midfielder Jordan Kowalski (Westfield, Mass./Westfield) paced the Cardinal attack with four points on two goals and two assists while controlling six draws and collecting four ground balls. Senior attacker Emily Caoili (Lagrangeville, N.Y./Arlington) and first-year attacker/midfielder Caitlin Nash (Patchogue, N.Y./Patchogue-Medford) each scored twice, while junior defender/midfielder Emma McLaughlin (Northport, N.Y./Northport) caused three turnovers.
 
Plattsburgh State falls to 3-5 overall (1-2 SUNYAC) with the loss and next hosts SUNY Oneonta on Wednesday, April 13, at 4 p.m. Buffalo State rises to 5-4 overall (1-2 SUNYAC) with the win and next hosts Oswego State on Wednesday, April 13, at 4 p.m.
 
The Cardinals opened scoring 1:24 into the contest when junior midfielder Caroline Noia (West Nyack, N.Y./Clarkstown South) tallied on a feed from first-year attacker Maddy Garcia (New Paltz, N.Y./New Paltz), and Kowalski extended the lead to 2-0 with a goal 2:10 later. Sophomore attacker Sarah Fineour scored a pair of goals for the Bengals in the final 1:21 of the first quarter to tie the game at 2-all through 15 minutes of play.
 
While senior attacker Liz Schultheis gave Buffalo State the lead midway through the second quarter, first-year defender/midfielder Nicole Resnick (Latham, N.Y./Shaker) cashed in on a pass from Kowalski to knot the score at 3-all. The Bengals then pulled away with seven unanswered goals spanning from midway through the second quarter to midway through the third. Buffalo State led, 6-3, at the half.
 
Kowalski and Nash each scored to break up the run, while first-year midfielder Tala Abdellatif found the back of the net for the Bengals to push Buffalo State's cushion out to 11-5. Caoili then scored a pair of goals, the second of which was assisted by Kowalski, to pull the Cardinals within four at 11-7 heading into the fourth quarter.
 
Abdellatif opened scoring for Buffalo State in the fourth, while Nash buried a woman-up goal with 5:26 remaining in regulation to make it a four-goal game once again. Fineour added insurance with the contest's final goal with 4:48 left.
 
Schultheis keyed the Bengal attack with six points on three goals and three assists, while Fineour netted four goals.
 
Sophomore goalie Johanna Malone (Levittown, N.Y./Division Avenue) and junior goalie Lilla Nease (Lake Forest, Calif./El Toro) each posted a save in the loss for the Cardinals, while senior goalie Janae Nelson made 25 stops in the win for the Bengals.