PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – The Plattsburgh State men's lacrosse team fell 10-9 against Utica in a tight battle at the Field House Soccer/Lacrosse Complex on Saturday afternoon. Junior attacker Dylan Ruland (Medford, N.Y. / Patchogue Medford) led the way for Plattsburgh with three goals.

Sophomore Ethan Francey (Canton, N.Y. / Canton) added two goals, while first-year Connor Wiggins (Whitesboro, N.Y. / Whitesboro) notched his first collegiate goal. At GLE, junior attacker Jamie Gipe (Baldwinsville, N.Y. / C.W. Baker) contributed two assists for two points. On defense, junior Fynn Whitlock (Middlebury, Vt. / Middlebury Union) and senior Kevin Murray (Bellmore, N.Y. / Kellenberg Memorial) each recorded three caused turnovers. Whitlock and sophomore defender Timmy Wood (Brooklyn, N.Y. / James Madison) dominated the ground game with six ground balls apiece. In goal, junior Cole Orehosky (Hauppauge, N.Y. / Hauppauge) made eight saves in the loss.
For the Pioneers, Lucas Donahue led all scorers with four goals for four points. Cade Bourcy and Chase Nappi both won nine faceoffs. Jake Boven recorded 13 saves, earning the win in net.

Plattsburgh held the advantage in shots, 44-33, and narrowly won the ground ball battle, 39-38. However, Utica controlled the faceoffs, 18-5. On extra-man opportunities, the Cardinals went scoreless in six chances, while Utica finished 1-for-4.

The Cardinals struck first in the opening quarter when Ruland scored at 12:24, but Utica answered quickly with the equalizer at the 11:26 mark. Off a feed from Gipe, Tim Keenan (Poughquag, N.Y. / Arlington) broke the tie, and Wiggins added his first career goal to give the Cardinals a 3-2 lead after one.

Utica took control in the second, opening the quarter with a three-goal run to take a 5-3 lead with 10:15 to play. The Cardinals responded with tallies from Francey and Ruland to tie the score at 5-5 with 2:05 remaining. However, Utica added a late goal to take a 6-5 lead into the break.

Fenner netted the first goal out of halftime, tying the game once again at 6-6 with 11:38 to play. The teams then exchanged goals before Utica added another at the 6:00 mark, sending the Cardinals into the final quarter trailing 8-7.

Plattsburgh quickly tied the game at 8-8 with a goal from Ruland at 13:55, but less than a minute later, Utica regained a one-goal lead at 13:04. Another score by the Pioneers proved to be the difference, as Urso cut the deficit to one with 2:17 remaining, but the Cardinals ultimately fell 10-9.

With the loss, Plattsburgh State falls to 3-1 and will return to action on Wednesday, Mar. 11, traveling to Clarkson for a 4 p.m. faceoff.