GENESEO, N.Y. -- In the snowy upstate weather, the Oneonta men's lacrosse team fell on the road to Geneseo, 16-11, Wednesday afternoon. Oneonta outscored Geneseo in the second half, however the Knights had built a lead in the first half to hold onto the game. Sophomore
Thomas Hnis (Smithtown, N.Y./Kings Park) led the team with four goals and an assist for five points. The Red Dragons dropped to 3-6 in the season while the Knights improved to 4-4.
Geneseo took a 3-0 lead before junior
Daniel Macchiarella (Guilderland, N.Y./Guilderland) fired in the first goal for Oneonta at 10:52. The Knights scored two more, then, in the final minute of the first period, junior
Anthony Munro (Seaford, N.Y./Seaford) got the ball behind the net and spun past his defender for the goal.
Senior
Matthew Krieg (Port Jefferson Station/Comsewogue) made it 6-3 at 10:42 in the second period after he picked up an overthrown pass from behind the net and wrapped around for the score. Geneseo scored five unanswered to take an eight-goal lead, then Hnis recorded two goals in the final minute for an 11-5 halftime score. The sophomore used a screen from senior
Vincent Tirino (Port Jefferson Station/Comsewogue) and had a Knight defender's stick break off his for an open goal, then, out of a timeout, Tirino passed it out to Hnis who five-holed the keeper.
Both teams recorded four goals in the third period. Senior
Matthew Mangels (St. James/Smithtown East) went coast to coast for one, then Macchiarella dished it to Hnis for his hat trick. Munro scored his second of the game after he beat his defender and fired the ball above the keeper's shoulder, and Hnis hit his 27th goal of the season off a pass from Krieg to make it 15-9.
Macchiarella netted his second of the game, and fourth of the season, on a man-up goal, and senior
Vincent Herbstman (Port Jefferson Station/Comsewogue) received a pass from Hnis to pull within four with 11:12 to play. The Knights held off the Red Dragons for the remainder of the game and added one more goal with four minutes left.
Macchiarella finished with two goals and an assist, Munro netted a pair of goals, and Krieg had a goal and an assist. Senior
Stephen Barikyan (Tappan/Tappan Zee) was 12-for-24 on faceoffs and had a team-high six ground balls.
Geneseo outshot Oneonta 44-38 and held a 30-22 advantage in ground balls. The Red Dragons were 15-for-17 on clear attempts and was 1-for-5 on extra man opportunities, while the Knights were 14-for-16 on clears and 1-for-1 on the man-up advantage.
Oneonta opens SUNYAC play on Saturday, March 29, against Plattsburgh at 12 pm on Red Dragon Field.
