PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – The Plattsburgh State men's lacrosse team fell to Plymouth State University, 9-5, in the Cardinals' home opener on Thursday afternoon in non-conference action at the Field House Complex.
 
The Cardinals owned a slight 37-36 edge in shots while holding the upper hand in ground balls (31-26) and going 10-for-18 on face-offs. Both teams went 1-for-4 with the extra man.
 
Junior midfielder Anthony Faber (Farmingdale, N.Y./Farmingdale) led Plattsburgh State with two goals, while junior attackman John Eiseman (Farmingville, N.Y./Sachem East) posted a goal and an assist and sophomore attackman Mike Walsh (Westchester, N.Y./Lakeland) dished out two assists. Defensively, senior defenseman Julian Pigliavento (Niskayuna, N.Y./Niskayuna) scooped up five ground balls and caused two turnovers, while sophomore midfielder Jimbo Farrelly (West Nyack, N.Y./Clarkstown South) went 6-for-8 on face-offs.
 
For Plymouth State, senior attackman Jake Dolcimascolo tallied five points on two goals and three assists, while junior attackman Crosby Fay and first-year attackman Brady Hunt each netted three goals. Junior defenseman Marc Hirshom collected five ground balls and caused four turnovers to lead the defense.
 
Plattsburgh State falls to 2-3 overall with the loss and next hosts Hartwick College on Saturday, March 18, at 1 p.m. Plymouth State rises to 5-1 overall with the win and next visits New England College on Monday, March 20, at 7 p.m.
 
Hunt scored the first two goals of the game, putting the Panthers on the board with a man-up strike with 8:19 on the clock in the first quarter before cashing in on a feed from Dolcimascolo 3:17 later. That wound up being the only offense in the opening stanza, as the Panthers led, 2-0, through 15 minutes of play.
 
Junior midfielder Nolan Burke connected with Fay for a goal 1:33 into the second quarter before senior midfielder Michael Swift (New Rochelle, N.Y./New Rochelle) buried his first goal of the year with 4:10 remaining in the second. Plymouth State took a 5-1 lead in the late stages of the second quarter, as senior midfielder Karl Flinter (sophomore attackman Ryan Jones assist) and Dolcimascolo (Flinter assist) both scored.
 
Eiseman fired the opening salvo of the second half with an unassisted goal 1:45 into the third quarter, while Fay scored back-to-back goals late in the third quarter to extend the Panther advantage to 7-2. Senior midfielder Gustav Rugg (Haverstraw, N.Y./North Rockland) scored man-up with 10 seconds left on a pass from Eiseman to trim the deficit to 7-3.
 
Faber tallied with 11:34 left in the fourth quarter on a pass from Walsh, while Hunt (Dolcimascolo assist) and Dolcimascolo each scored for the Panthers to hand Plymouth State a 9-4 edge. Walsh connected with Faber for the final goal of the game with 1:54 remaining.
 
Junior goalie Dan Clements (Putnam Valley, N.Y./Putnam Valley) made a career-high 14 saves in the loss for Plattsburgh State, while junior goalie Owen McNichols turned aside 17 shots in the win for Plymouth State.