Box Score A Quick Look
A man-up goal by senior Thomas McRae (Northport/Northport) with 1:28 remaining in the fourth period proved to be the game-winner in a 10-9 victory for the SUNY Oneonta men's lacrosse team at Plattsburgh today.  The Cardinals, who fall to 1-1, had one last attempt, but an Amos Grimm shot hit the post with two seconds left.
 
"That was a gutsy effort against a quality opponent," said Head Coach Pete Owens.  "Our seniors stood up, all over the field. We had some individual efforts out of a few younger guys that really helped. There are certainly things to clean up, on both ends of the ball, but it's good to get another win. We see them again in a few weeks, and that will be another huge test. They are headed in a good direction under Coach Hauk."
 
The Inside Story
Oneonta entered the final period with a 9-5 lead before Plattsburgh began to chip away tying the score at 9 apiece at the 5:01 mark.  The Red Dragons were given its extra-man opportunity when a 1-minute pushing penalty was called on the Cardinals.  Midway through the man advantage, McRae took a feed from sophomore David Guest (Niskayuna/Niskayuna) before pumping one by the Cardinals' goalie.
 
Oneonta won the ensuing faceoff but turned it over to Plattsburgh giving them its final chance to tie the game.
 
McRae scored the game's first goal to spot Oneonta a 1-0 lead less that five minutes into the contest.  After the Cardinals tied the game less than one minute later, Oneonta scored four unanswered to grab a 5-1 lead after one period of play.  Sophomore Connor Gallagher (Montrose/Hendrick Hudson) paced the attack with three goals including a man-up score with 26 seconds left in the period.
 
In the second period, neither team held an advantage registering two goals each.  Freshman Matthew Krieg (Port Jefferson Station/Comsewogue) scored his first collegiate goal and senior Andrew Hodgens (Syracuse/Westhill) added his first goal of the season for the Red Dragons, as they took a 7-3 lead into halftime.
 
The third period was a carbon copy of the second stanza with both squads scoring a pair of goals, as Oneonta maintained its four-goal advantage.  Krieg scored his second of the game to give Oneonta an 8-3 lead while Gallagher added his fourth goal to close out the scoring in the third period for both teams.
 
Just the Stats
The shots were even in the game at 44 apiece with 24 getting on cage for Oneonta and 22 for Plattsburgh.  The Red Dragons won 15-of-22 faceoffs in the contest with sophomore Matthew Cronk (Fairport/Fairport) winning eight of them.  Oneonta made Plattsburgh pay for its penalties notching three man-up goals in six attempts while holding the Cardinals to no extra-man goals.
 
Junior Jordan Berson (Old Bethpage/JFK) made 13 saves in picking up his second straight win in goal.
 
What's Next
The Red Dragons return home next Friday afternoon for a match-up with the New Paltz Hawks beginning at 4pm.  Catch the action live on our Facebook page and follow the play-by-play on live stats.