CANTON, N.Y. -- The Oneonta men's lacrosse team continued to outpace their conference opponents and defeated Canton on the road for a 23-5 SUNYAC win, Friday evening. The team jumped out to a 10-1 lead after the first quarter then cruised to the victory to improve to 5-6 overall and 2-0 in the SUNYAC, while the Roos dropped to 1-7 on the season and 0-2 in conference play.

Senior Stephen Barikyan (Tappan/Tappan Zee) broke two Red Dragon program records with faceoffs won and ground balls. Barikyan went 25-for-28 on faceoffs, a .893 win percentage, and broke Tyler Dunne's record of 22 set on April 1, 2006. The senior also collected 17 ground balls and broke Jim van de Veerdonk's record of 16 set on April 23, 2011. Barikyan is 165-for-260 (.635 percentage) on faceoffs and has collected a team-high 96 ground balls this season, he currently leads the SUNYAC in both categories.

Junior Jamie O'Neil (Bath, N.Y./Haverling) led the team with six goals and three assists for nine points, which is the third time he has tied his career-high in points this season. Sophomore Thomas Hnis (Smithtown, N.Y./Kings Park) recorded four goals and four assists for eight points, and senior Matthew Krieg (Port Jefferson Station/Comsewogue) finished with two goals and four assists for six points. O'Neil currently leads the SUNYAC in assists (32) and points (64), and is second in goals (32). Hnis is first in the conference in goals (33) and second in points (47). Krieg is ranked second in the SUNYAC in assists (23) and is sixth in points (34).

Oneonta scored the first eight goals of the game before Canton scored their first at 3:20 in the opening period. O'Neil assisted junior Daniel Macchiarella (Guilderland, N.Y./Guilderland) on his sixth goal of the season then O'Neil netted three straight. Senior Gavin Teiner (East Northport, N.Y./Northport) hit the back of the net off a pass from Krieg, then O'Neil dished it to junior Anthony Munro (Seaford, N.Y./Seaford) for the score to put the Red Dragons up 6-0 at 6:54. Senior Andrew Guinto (Syracuse/West Genesee) went the length of the field for an Oneonta clear and dumped the ball in front of the net to O'Neil for the goal, and Hnis followed it up with a man-up goal off a pass from Macchiarella. After the Roos scored their first goal, Hnis netted his second of the game then assisted Krieg for the 10-1 advantage at the end of the first.

The Red Dragons had a 5-2 second period and extended their lead to 15-3 entering halftime. Junior Sergio Ilairio scored his fourth goal of the season before Munro netted his 17th to put the team up 12-2 at 6:58. After receiving the ball at midfield, Guinto took it into the offensive zone and fired in his third goal of the season. Hnis netted his hat trick off a pass from Krieg, then, in the closing seconds of the half, O'Neil stole a pass from the Roos and sprinted towards the net for the goal to put the Red Dragons up 12 at the break.

Following a score from Canton at 8:07 in the third period, Oneonta recorded eight unanswered goals to take a 23-4 lead with 5:34 to play. Hnis netted his fourth of the game off a pass from Krieg. Krieg later scored his 11th goal of the season on a man-up advantage. Teiner hit the back of the net for his fourth of the season and was assisted by O'Neil, who scored his final goal of the game in the closing seconds of the third period.

Sophomore Finn Morris (Long Beach, N.Y./Long Beach) made a pair of goals in the third period for his fourth and fifth scores of the year, then he assisted freshman Cody Sharp (Burnt Hills Ballston Lake, N.Y./Burnt Hills Ballston Lake) for his first career goal with Oneonta. Sharp received the pass on the right side of the attack zone and ripped it into the top shelf with a sidearm shot. 

Junior Will Fruscio (Niskayuna, N.Y./Albany Academy) scored his first goal of the season with a pass from junior Sha Carr (Brooklyn, N.Y./John Dewey) for Oneonta's last goal of the game. The assist was Carr's first career point with the Red Dragons. The junior was just outside the top of the attack zone when he found Fruscio unguarded in the middle of the zone for the goal.

Morris finished with two goals and an assist, while Macchiarella had one goal with two assists. Munro and Teiner each netted two goals, and Guinto had one goal and an assist.

Ilario collected five ground balls and caused one turnover along with his goal. O'Neil, Hnis, Macchiarella, sophomores Johnny Terrana (St. James, N.Y./Smithtown East) and Trey Fee (White Plains, N.Y./White Plains) all had three ground balls.

Freshman Mark Restivo (Merrick, N.Y./Sanford H. Calhoun) started the first half and recorded six saves for the Red Dragons. Junior Tyler Carroll (Niskayuna, N.Y./Niskayuna) and sophomore Ben Thayer (South Setauket, N.Y./Ward Melville) each recorded two saves in the final period, while Junior Ryan Collins (Oceanside, N.Y./Oceanside) was the keeper for the third quarter.

Oneonta outshot Canton 55-27, 42-15 on target, and held a 49-28 ground ball advantage. The Red Dragons were 18-for-20 on clear attempts and 2-for-5 on extra man opportunities. The Roos were 16-for-25 on clears and 1-for-4 on the man up advantage.

Oneonta is back in action on Wednesday, April 9, for a SUNYAC road game against Oswego at 4 pm. Read Full Article