A Quick Look
The SUNY Oneonta men's lacrosse season came to an end today with a 14-2 loss to SUNY Geneseo in the semifinals of the 2021 SUNYAC Tournament.  The Red Dragons finish the season with an overall record of 5-3 while 6-3 Geneseo advances to the championship game at SUNY Cortland Friday night.
 
"Today is hard to swallow, no doubt," said Head Coach Pete Owens.  "I felt our energy was there, but our execution was not."
 
The Inside Story
After a Geneseo goal by James Pratt in the second minute of the game, Oneonta scored back-to-back goals to grab its only lead of the afternoon.  Senior Thomas Fay (Nanuet/Nanuet) tied the score with an unassisted goal at 12:33 and, three minutes later, junior Dean Cannon (Clifton Park/Shenendehowa) tallied off an assist from senior Thomas McRae (Northport/Northport) to give the Red Dragons the lead.
 
Unfortunately, the scoring ended for Oneonta, as s stingy Knight defense held them scoreless the rest of the way while the offense scored 13 unanswered goals.
 
Connor Griffin tied the game at two goals apiece at the 5:29 mark and that's where the score would stay at the end of the first period.
 
Geneseo scored four goals in the second quarter including a pair by Pratt to take a 6-2 lead into the break.  The Knights' final goal of the half came with just 0.6 seconds remaining.
 
Geneseo tacked on four goals each in the third and fourth quarters for the final.  Kevin Cook and Griffin each scored two goals in the second half to pace the attack.
 
Just the Stats
Oneonta was outshot by Geneseo 42-23.  The ground balls were 22-20 in favor of the knights and both teams were 0-2 on extra-man opportunities.  Oneonta did have a slight edge in faceoffs 10-9 with all 10 wins earned by junior Timothy Shanley (West Hempstead/West Hempstead).
 
Mark Pav made seven saves to earn the win while Jordan Berson (Old Bethpage/JFK) took the loss for Oneonta making six saves.
 
"Overall, I am proud of this team," Owens added.  "This was a year that we weren't sure we were going to get and, as time passes, we realize how fortunate we were to play at all this spring.  Moreover, we took a step forward, and that's something this senior class can hang their hat on."