PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. -- The SUNY Oneonta men's lacrosse team overpowered Plattsburgh State for a 16-4 SUNYAC road win, Saturday afternoon. Senior
Eric Nicholson (Nesconset, N.Y./Smithtown East) finished with eight assists, the third most in a game in program history, and most since Chris Thornhill's '93 nine-assist game in 1988. Sophomore
Jamie O'Neil (Bath, N.Y./Haverling) ended the day with five goals and two ground balls, while junior
Vincent Tirino (Port Jefferson Station/Comsewogue) finished with a hat trick, four ground balls and caused two turnovers. The Red Dragons improved to 5-5 overall, 1-2 in the SUNYAC, and the Cardinals dropped to 4-7 on the season and 0-2 in the conference.
Sophomore
Will Fruscio (Niskayuna, N.Y./Albany Academy) recorded his first collegiate point at 11:41 when he ran into the offensive zone with the ball and found Tirino on the far side for the first goal of the game. Cam Morin tied the game for Plattsburgh on a man-up opportunity at 5:07.
Oneonta pulled away with the game with seven straight goals in the second quarter and took an 8-1 lead with 4:23 remaining in the half. O'Neil netted the first three goals of the run in a 1:05 span. Senior Matthew Kreig ripped a bouncer into the net before Nicholson assisted junior
Matthew Mangels (St. James/Smithtown East) for his first goal of the season then Tirino for his second of the game on a man-up opportunity. Junior
Vincent Herbstman (Port Jefferson Station/Comsewogue) sprinted into the attack zone to receive the ball and cut past one defender towards the net to score the last Red Dragon goal of the half. Plattsburgh's Fynn Whitlock scored with 2:01 left in the second period as the Cardinals went into halftime down 8-2.
Nicholson was behind the goal when he gave a quick pass out front to Tirino for his hat trick at 11:59 in the third. After Morin tallied another one for Plattsburgh at 8:15, Oneonta closed out the game with a 7-1 run. Junior
Stephen Barikyan (Tappan/Tappan Zee) won the ensuing faceoff after Morin's goal and took the ball himself for the score. In the final minutes of the third, O'Neil scored on an extra man opportunity, Herbstman had an open shot in front of the goal for his second of the game, and sophomore
Aidan Greene (Smithtown, N.Y./Smithtown West) found the back of the net with four seconds left in the quarter to go up 13-4.
Freshman
Brett Deegan (Port Jefferson Station/Comsewogue) continued the stretch and scored his first collegiate goal right in front of the Cardinals goalie, Dan Clements, with 11:56 to play. O'Neil recorded his 34th goal of the season on a man-up opportunity then Krieg scored the last goal of the game with 4:30 to play after he stutter-stepped past his defender for a dive shot in front of Clements.
Krieg and Herbstman each finished with a pair of goals, Nicholson assisted six different Red Dragons. Senior
Harrison Boukas (North Massapequa/Plainegde) recorded nine saves and four ground balls. Barikyan went 13-for-17 on faceoffs with a goal and had the game-high 10 ground balls. Senior
Jesse AlfanoStJohn (Westhampton Beach/Westhampton Beach) caused two turnovers and picked up five ground balls.
Morin scored twice for Plattsburgh, Clements finished with 19 saves and three ground balls.
The Red Dragons outshot the Cardinals 64-28, 35-13 on goal, and had a 44-25 ground ball advantage. Oneonta was 21-for-23 on clears and 3-for-8 on extra man opportunities while Plattsburgh went 26-for-34 on clears and 1-for-3 on the man up.
The Red Dragons are back home for their next game against Brockport on Saturday, April 13, at 3 pm.
