ONEONTA, N.Y. -- The Oneonta men's lacrosse team dropped their non-conference contest to the No. 7 nationally ranked Stevens Tech, 15-5, Saturday afternoon at Red Dragon Field. Stevens took control of the game early with five unanswered goals in the first quarter. Oneonta cut their deficit to four, 9-5, halfway through the third quarter, then Stevens ended the game with six straight scores. The result moved the Red Dragons to 2-3 this season and the Ducks to 3-0 overall.
Sophomore
Mark Restivo (Merrick, NY/Sanford H. Calhoun) finished with a career-high 24 saves in goal for Oneonta, while juniors
Aidan Boyle (Yorktown Heights, N.Y./Yorktown) and
Thomas Hnis (Smithtown, N.Y./Kings Park) both had the team-high three points. Boyle scored twice and had an assist, and Hnis had a goal with two assists.
"It was a tough day today," said Head Coach
Pete Owens. "Stevens is an excellent opponent, and they showed why they are a top 10 team in the nation. I am definitely proud of the effort from our team, and this will be an experience that we can build on."
Will Labartino and Tyler Holland each scored twice for Stevens in the first quarter as they took a 5-0 lead into the second. Hnis recorded the first goal for the Red Dragons at 9:47 in the second off a pass from senior
Jamie O'Neil (Bath, N.Y./Haverling), then the Ducks added three more goals for an 8-1 lead at 6:34.
Sophomore
Riley Royals (New Hyde Park, NY/Herricks) got a pass from Hnis and fired in his fourth goal of the season before Boyle found junior
Finn Morris (Long Beach, N.Y./Long Beach) for a man-up goal to trim the lead to five at 4:11 in the second period. Stevens' Adam DeCristofaro scored the final goal of the first half to take a 9-3 lead into the break.
Oneonta made it a four-goal game, 9-5, with 6:23 left in the third quarter with a pair of goals from Boyle. Unfortunately, the Red Dragons were unable to find the back of the net for the remainder of the game while the Ducks scored six more goals for the final.
Restivo finished with 24 saves for a .615 save percentage and Stevens' Michael Jannotte recorded 13 saves for his team. The Ducks were led by Holland with six goals and DeCristofaro with three goals and two assists.
Stevens outshot Oneonta 61-34 in total shots, 39-18 on net, and finished with a 42-24 ground ball advantage. The Red Dragons were 16-for-26 on clear attempts and 2-for-5 on the man-up advantage, and the Ducks were 22-for-23 on clears and 1-for-2 with an extra man.
Oneonta is back home for their next game on Wednesday, March 11, when they host Hartwick in the Battle of the Hills at 3 pm on Red Dragon Field.
