PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – After both teams were tied at four going into the final quarter, the Plattsburgh State men's lacrosse team was outscored 4-1 in the fourth quarter and dropped an 8-5 decision to the Potsdam Bears in State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) play. Senior Logan Vilardi (West Babylon, N.Y. / West Babylon) had a career day with a career-high three goals in the game for a hat trick to lead the Cardinal offense in the overall effort.

Senior Donald Woods (Rocky Point, N.Y. / Rocky Point) and sophomore Dylan Ruland (Medford, N.Y. / Patchogue-Medford) both tallied a goal and an assist for Plattsburgh. Ruland, Ethan Francey (Canton, N.Y. / Canton), Kevin Murray (Bellmore, N.Y. / Kellenberg Memorial), and Max Lamitie (Ridge, N.Y. / Longwood) all scooped up three ground balls while Ruland and Lamitie added two caused turnovers. Senior Anthony Faber (Farmingdale, N.Y. / Farmingdale) and sophomore Fynn Whitlock (Middlebury, Vt. / Middlebury Union) had two caused turnovers as well to pair with two ground balls.

For the Bears, Cobie Cree led all players in points with four, tallying two goals and a game-high two assists. Drew Rose and Billy Kozloski had two goals as well, while Alex Farben-Griggs led all players in ground balls with eight, and Drew Castillo won 13 faceoffs.

Plattsburgh had a slight edge in shots, 46-44, and placed 22 shots on goal while Potsdam had 20 shots on goal. Both teams scored a man-up goal, with Plattsburgh finishing 1-3 on extra-man opportunities and Potsdam 1-4. The Bears had a 38-27 advantage in ground balls and won the faceoff battle 13-4. Plattsburgh finished 22-28 on clears, and the Bears finished 19-24.

Plattsburgh State falls to 5-8 (1-5 SUNYAC) with the loss and has been eliminated from playoff contention. The Cardinals will conclude their season when they travel to Morrisville for their season finale on Saturday, Apr. 26, for a 2 p.m. opening faceoff. Potsdam rises to 7-6 (3-3 SUNYAC) and next hosts New Paltz on Saturday, Apr. 26 at 1 p.m., with the winner clinching the final spot in the postseason.

The first quarter saw even play between both teams as they were knotted at 2 after 15 minutes of action. Cree got the scoring started first, getting Potsdam on the board at the 12:57 mark. Vilardi responded not long after with a goal at the 10:02 mark, tying the game at one. Plattsburgh struck again this time from Woods off the Ruland helper and took a 2-1 lead midway through the quarter. The lead held until the end of the quarter when Potsdam tallied a late goal with 11 seconds left to tie the game at two.

The second quarter had the least amount of action offensively as the Cardinals tallied the only goal. It was a defensive battle until the 2:32 mark when Vilardi struck on an extra-man opportunity, netting his second goal of the game. After a fake shot attempt from Woods, he was able to find Vilardi open on the right side as he launched a shot that got pass the Potsdam goalie and gave the Cardinals a 3-2 lead going into halftime.

The Cardinals struck first coming out of the break, with another tally from Vilardi at the 11:24 mark, and cushioned their lead to 4-2. However, the Bears scored two straight goals at the 8:22 and 4:03 marks, tying the game at four after three quarters of play.

After back-to-back goals from the Bears to open the fourth quarter, Potsdam took a 6-4 lead with over 13 minutes remaining in the fourth. Ruland broke the Cardinals' scoring drought with a goal at the 8:15 mark, making the score 6-5 Bears and bringing Plattsburgh within one. However, that was the last goal the Cardinals scored as Potsdam scored the final two goals of the game, and Plattsburgh fell 8-5.

Sophomore Cole Orehosky made 12 saves in 60 minutes of action for Plattsburgh, taking the loss. Liam O'Neil made 17 saves in 60 minutes of action, earning the win for Potsdam.