PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – The Plattsburgh State men's lacrosse team used a strong first half in which they outscored Canton 10-1 to help lead them to a 19-6 State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) win over the Kangaroos. This win marks the Cardinals' first conference win since 2022. Plattsburgh had nine Cardinals record multi-point outings led by sophomore Dylan Ruland (Medford, N.Y. / Patchogue-Medford) with five points off four goals and an assist. Sophomore Peter Urso (Bay Shore, N.Y. / Bay Shore) had a strong performance for the Cardinals as well, netting two goals and dishing out two assists for a four-point performance.

Senior Donald Woods (Rocky Point, N.Y. / Rocky Point) and senior Ely Bruhns (Clifton Park, N.Y. / Shenendehowa) both tacked on three points as Woods had a three-goal hat trick and Bruhns two assists and a goal. Logan Vilardi (West Babylon, N.Y. / West Babylon), Tatum Cipp (Bellport, N.Y. / Bellport), and Tim Keenan (Poughquag, N.Y. / Arlington) all had two goals as Cipp scored the first goal of his career. First-year Owen O'Hara (Tappan, N.Y. / Tappan Zee) also scored the first goal of his career while senior Matt Gannon (Poughkeepsie, N.Y. / Arlington) recorded his first career point with an assist. Jamie Gipe (Baldwinsville, N.Y. / C. W. Baker) and Ethan Francey (Canton, N.Y. / Canton) both had a goal and an assist for two points. Justin Ortiz (Massapequa, N.Y. / Massapequa) also found himself in the point column today with an assist. Senior Jimbo Farrelly (West Nyack, N.Y. / Clarkstown South) went 13-19 on faceoffs and scooped up a game-high six ground balls.

For the Kangaroos, Austin Mesler led his team in points with three off a team-high two goals and an assist while picking up five ground balls. Michael Newcomb and Caeden Goodnough both tallied a goal and an assist. Rory McCabe also had five ground balls, tied for a team-high, and Holden Hewlett finished with two caused turnovers to lead his team defensively.

The Cardinals dominated the shot battle 66-39, recording 38 shots on goal to the Kangaroos' 24. Plattsburgh won the game on the ground, picking up 45 ground balls while Canton had 33 and dominated faceoffs 21-7. The Cardinals collected four man-up goals, going 4-8 on extra-man opportunities while the Kangaroos went scoreless in seven chances. On clears, Plattsburgh was 14-16 while Canton was 15-18.

Plattsburgh State rises to 5-5 (1-2 SUNYAC) with the win and next travels to New Paltz on Saturday, Apr. 12 for a 1 p.m. opening faceoff. Canton falls to 1-8 (0-3 SUNYAC) with the loss and next hosts Cortland on Saturday, Apr. 12 at 1 p.m.

The first half was all Plattsburgh as the Cardinals scored the first seven goals of the game. Woods got the scoring started after five minutes of play in the opening quarter, taking advantage of a Canton penalty for the man-up score off the assist of Gipe. D. Ruland then netted his first goal of the game at the 7:54 mark, followed by goals from Urso and Woods as Plattsburgh took a 4-0 lead into the second quarter.

It was D. Ruland again as Plattsburgh kept their momentum going in the second quarter with an unassisted tally one minute into the action. Francey and Bruhns netted back-to-back goals for Plattsburgh before Canton finally got on the board at the 3:57 mark with a goal from Devin Guerriero off the pass from Mesler and made the score 7-1. The Cardinals countered the Kangaroos' goal with three straight goals to end the second, taking a commanding 10-1 lead into halftime.

The third quarter saw the Cardinals outscore the Kangaroos 7-0, scoring the most goals of any quarter to take a 17-1 lead into the final quarter. Keenan led the way with two goals, scoring the first and last goals of the quarter.

The fourth quarter didn't see a goal scored until the 8:37 mark when Canton ended a 10-goal scoring run for Plattsburgh as Mesler and Newcomb netted back-to-back goals and made the score 17-3. O'Hara ended the run with a goal in transition off the pass from Gannon, and Cipp scored the Cardinals' last goal of the game at the 3:37 mark as Plattsburgh went on to win 19-6.

Sophomore Cole Orehosky (Hauppauge, N.Y. / Hauppauge) made 12 saves in the win for Plattsburgh in over 39 minutes of action. Junior Jack Mulcahy (Poughkeepsie, N.Y. / Arlington) made six saves in 12 minutes of action while sophomore Zachary Nacheman (Saratoga Springs, N.Y. / Saratoga Springs) and first-year Gavin McQueeney (Wading River, N.Y. / Shoreham Wading River) also saw time in net for the Cardinals. Hayden Todd made 16 saves in 45 minutes of action in the loss for Canton, while Sam Servati made three saves in 15 minutes of action.