NEW PALTZ, N.Y. -- The SUNY Oneonta men's lacrosse team had their foot on the gas for 60 minutes and defeated New Paltz in a key SUNYAC win, 22-12, Wednesday afternoon. It was the 14th time the program has recorded at least 22 goals and the most the Red Dragons have scored against a SUNYAC team since March 27, 2002. Freshman
Thomas Hnis (Smithtown, N.Y./Kings Park) finished with six goals and three assists, and senior
Eric Nicholson (Nesconset, N.Y./Smithtown East) tallied three goals and six assists to co-lead the team with nine points. The Red Dragons improved to 7-7 on the season, 3-3 in the SUNYAC, while the Hawks fell to 5-9 overall and 1-5 in the conference.
Both teams traded goals at the start of the game for a 3-3 score at 9:21. Junior
Vincent Tirino (Port Jefferson Station/Comsewogue) snuck one past the goalie's stick for the first goal less than 30 seconds into the game, sophomore
Anthony Munro (Seaford, N.Y./Seaford) hit a bounce shot that ricocheted around the goal post and in, then freshman
Aidan Boyle (Yorktown Heights, N.Y./Yorktown) made his first career goal as a Red Dragon. Boyle received the ball behind the net, wrapped around towards the front and spun past his defender for a shot that went above Hawks goalie, Ryan Steinhart, and in. After New Paltz's Deacon Hill tied the game, Oneonta scored five unanswered and took an 8-3 lead going into the second. During the stretch to end the first, Boyle scored his second on a wide open man-up shot in front of the net, senior
Evan Kelly (Niskayuna, N.Y./Niskayuna) and Tirino both hit the back of the net from the center of the attack zone, and Hnis made the final two goals.
New Paltz had the slight edge in the second period and outscored Oneonta, 6-4, for a three-goal deficit, 12-9, at halftime. During the quarter, Boyle netted his third for his hat trick off a pass from Nicholson, Nicholson scored one off a pass from Hnis, then Hnis fired one in to go up 11-6 at 9:57. The Hawks tallied three straight to pull within two until Hnis recorded his fourth of the game.
Oneonta broke open the game with five straight goals in the third quarter to go up 17-9 at 4:04. Nicholson had two assists during the run as he passed his first to Kelly to start it off with a man-up goal. Freshman
Ryan Lussier (Burnt Hills, N.Y./Burnt Hills) dished one to Boyle, Tirino scored two, one assisted by Nicholson, within a minute of one another, and Hnis capped it off with an unassisted goal.
The Hawks made it 17-11 with 11:24 to play, but the Red Dragons closed out the game with a 5-1 stretch. Nicholson found Tirino for a man-up goal before he went top shelf with a behind the back shot as a defender guarded him. Boyle hit his fifth of the game and Hnis netted his 37th of the season, and Freshman
Nathan Nurse (Brooklyn, N.Y./Uncommon Collegiate Charter) recorded his first collegiate point after he won the faceoff, ran towards the attack zone, and passed it to Nicholson on the left side of the zone for the final Oneonta goal.
Tirino ended with five goals and an assist, Boyle finished with five goals and caused three turnovers, and Kelly had a pair of goals. Junior
Stephen Barikyan (Tappan/Tappan Zee) won a career-high 20 of 27 faceoffs and collected nine ground balls. Barikyan is the fourth Red Dragon in program history to win at least 20 faceoffs in a game. Senior
Harrison Boukas (North Massapequa/Plainegde) finished with eight saves and two ground balls. Junior
Matthew Mangels (St. James/Smithtown East) caused three turnovers and senior
Jesse AlfanoStJohn (Westhampton Beach/Westhampton Beach) had four ground balls and two caused turnovers.
Steinhart finished with 19 saves in 51:30 for New Paltz, Dan Clark played the final 8:30, saved one shot, and allowed three goals. Ethan Scully led the Hawks with three goals and an assist.
Oneonta outshot New Paltz, 57-31, 42-20 on goal, and had a 34-21 ground ball advantage. The Red Dragons won 27 of 37 faceoffs and were 3-for-5 on extra man opportunities.
Oneonta concludes the regular season on Saturday, April 27, against Oswego at 1 pm. If the Red Dragons beat the Lakers, they clinch a spot in the SUNYAC tournament.
