A Quick Look
In a must win game for the SUNY Oneonta men's lacrosse team, the squad turned in its best performance of the year stifling the visiting Oswego Lakers 12-6. Oneonta needed the victory to keep its SUNYAC playoff hopes alive, as the move to 2-3 in the conference and 3-9 overall.
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The Inside Story
The story for the Red Dragons in this one was its suffocating defense backed up by another solid performance in goal by junior
Luke Mignoli (Long Beach/Long Beach). Oneonta trailed 5-4 at halftime and only allowed one goal and 11 total shots. Mignoli finished the game with 14 saves.
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The two squads played to a 1-1 draw in the first quarter with Oneonta's goal coming from
Jack Dinnegan (Blauvelt/Tappan Zee) unassisted.
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The Red Dragons scored back-to-back goals including a man up goal by freshman
Vincent Tirino (Port Jefferson Station/Comsewogue) to grab a 3-1 lead midway through the second quarter.
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The Lakers scored three unanswered to take a 4-3 lead before junior
Kieran Rowley (Long Beach/Long Beach) tied the game with his second goal of the period. The Lakers scored the go-ahead goal with 17 seconds remaining in the period to take a 5-4 lead into halftime.
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Oneonta completely outplayed Oswego (8-4, 3-2 SUNYAC) from the opening faceoff of the third period. The Red Dragons registered 17 shots in the third period putting five in the back of the net to pull away. Five different players scored in the period including another man up goal by Tirino. Rowley scored another goal while adding an assist in the period.
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In the final period, Dinnegan scored his second unassisted goal to get Oneonta to 10-5. After a Laker goal at the 4:47 mark,
Bryce Caffrey (Montrose/Hendrick Hudson) and Rowley finished off the scoring for Oneonta.
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Just the Stats
Oneonta registered 48 shots in the contest and won 10 faceoffs. They also were a perfect 19-for-19 on clears while committing a season low nine turnovers.
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What's Next
Oneonta travels to New Paltz this Wednesday for another must-win game versus the Hawks.
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