A Quick Look
Junior attackman Dean Cannon (Clifton Park/Shenendehowa) scored a collegiate high five goals today to lead the SUNY Oneonta men's lacrosse team to a 13-6 victory against Plattsburgh at home.  The win for the Red Dragons kept them undefeated at 4-0 while also clinching a playoff berth for the SUNYAC tournament in early May.  The playoff berth is the first for Oneonta since 2015.
 
"Another quality defensive performance anchored by our goalie Jordan Berson (Old Bethpage/JFK)," commented Head Coach Pete Owens.  "We shot the ball better today, which we needed to and Dean's skills that we have seen in practice showed up on gameday.  But today was about our seniors who led us to victory.  I am so proud of them."
 
The Inside Story
After falling behind 1-0 in the fourth minute of the contest, Oneonta seized control with eight unanswered goals to put the game out of reach by halftime.
 
Four different players tallied in the first period for Oneonta, as seniors Andrew Hodgens (Syracuse/Westhill) and Thomas McRae (Northport/Northport), sophomore Connor Gallagher (Montrose/Hendrick Hudson) and Cannon each hit the back of the goal.  McRae also added an assist on Gallagher's goal that gave Oneonta a 3-1 lead.
 
In the second period, Cannon scored twice while senior Thomas Fay (Nanuet/Nanuet) and sophomore Sam Haita (Stephentown/La Salle Institute) each scored.  McRae added another assist on the Haita goal while Gallagher registered a helper on Fay's goal.
 
Plattsburgh (1-5, 1-3 SUNYAC East) finally broke the string when Gus Rugg scored off an assist from Brian Pohoreckyj about midway through the third period.   Pohoreckyj would set up Andrew Braverman four minutes later to make the score 9-3.  Pohoreckyj finished the game with four assists.
 
Fay closed the third period with a man-up goal to give the Red Dragons a comfortable 10-3 advantage heading to the final period.
 
In the final stanza, Cannon scored twice and McRae once while Stephen Kane scored three times for the Cardinals.
 
Just the Stats
Oneonta outshot Plattsburgh in the game 42-30 while collecting 33 ground balls.  The Red Dragons won 14 face-offs led by Matthew Cronk (Fairport/Fairport) who won 8-of-11.
 
Junior Jordan Berson (Old Bethpage/JFK) made a season high 15 saves in picking up his fourth win of the season.
 
What's Next
Oneonta will travel on Sunday to face rival Cortland beginning at 1pm.