MORRISVILLE, N.Y. -- The SUNY Oneonta men's lacrosse team defeated Morrisville on the road, 16-9, on a rainy Saturday afternoon. Sophomore
Jamie O'Neil (Bath, N.Y./Haverling) scored a career-high eight goals with one assist, tied for the fourth most goals in a game in program history and the first Red Dragon to score eight goals in a game since Anthony Pisciotto on May 1, 2002. The Red Dragons improved to 2-1 on the season while the Mustangs dropped to 0-3 overall.
Morrisville took the opening lead a minute into the game before O'Neil scored two straight. Senior
Eric Nicholson (Nesconset, N.Y./Smithtown East) had a no-look pass down to O'Neil for a crease-diving score then he fired another shot through the five-hole of the Mustang's goalie, Nathan Weise, on a man-up opportunity at 5:05. After Dante Patriarco tied it, senior
Andrew Guinto (Syracuse/West Genesee) gave Oneonta a 3-2 lead entering the second when he juked past his defender towards the center of the zone and ripped it into the net.
O'Neil held possession of the ball behind the net at 13:40 in the second, came out and snuck it between the post and Weise for his third goal. Michael Angenikos scored to cut the deficit to one, but the Red Dragons closed out the half with four unanswered for an 8-3 lead. Senior
Matthew Krieg (Port Jefferson Station/Comsewogue) found O'Neil for the first, then sophomore Danny Macciarella passed it to sophomore
Brian Zecchini (Oakdale, N.Y./Connetquot) for another five-hole score. Following Zecchini's goal, junior
Stephen Barikyan (Tappan/Tappan Zee) won the faceoff and passed it to senior
Jesse AlfanoStJohn (Westhampton Beach/Westhampton Beach) who ran into the attack zone and scored in stride. Freshman
Thomas Hnis (Smithtown, N.Y./Kings Park) recorded the last goal of the half at 4:10 off a pass from freshman
Anthony Munro (Seaford, N.Y./Seaford).
Morrisville got back to within three with a couple goals from Chris Stancarone and Curtis Robitaille at 10:11. Krieg assisted Hnis and O'Neil on a pair of goals during the third, while the Mustang's recorded one more with three second left to make it 10-6 entering the final period.
Oneonta did not slow down the tempo in the fourth and scored six goals to Morrisville's three. O'Neil scored the first two off passes from Hnis and Nicholson. Junior
Vincent Tirino (Port Jefferson Station/Comsewogue) and Hnis hit the back of the net on man-up opportunities, then O'Neil scored his eighth goal off a pass from Hnis before he returned the favor and dished it to Hnis for the final goal of the game.
Hnis finished with four goals and two assists for six points. Krieg had four assists and Nicholson ended with three assists.
Senior
Harrison Boukas (North Massapequa/Plainegde) finished with 17 saves for a .654 save percentage. AlfanoStJohn caused five turnovers and collected five ground balls along with a goal. Barikyan won 12 of 18 faceoffs and grabbed seven ground balls, while senior
Stephen Sommo (Floral Park/Floral Park) won six of 10 faceoffs and collected four ground balls.
Weise ended with 16 saves and two groundballs for the Mustangs. Dean Mohammed finished with three goals and Patriarco had two goals and an assist.
Oneonta outshot Morrisville, 52-37, and had a 40-31 advantage in ground balls.
The Red Dragons are back in action Thursday when they host Hartwick in the Battle of the Hills at 4 pm on Red Dragon Field.
