ONEONTA, N.Y. -- The Oneonta men's lacrosse team upended Canton in the regular season finale, 24-6, Saturday afternoon at Red Dragon Field. Canton recorded the first goal of the game before Oneonta scored 16 straight goals for a 16-1 lead at halftime. The Red Dragons had 13 different players score a goal and 16 record a point as the team finished the regular season 9-7 overall with a 6-1 record in the SUNYAC, while the Roos ended their season 2-9 overall and 0-7 in conference play. Oneonta finished second in the conference standings, qualifying for the SUNYAC Tournament, and they will host Potsdam in their semifinal match up on Wednesday, April 29, with a time still to be announced. 

Senior Jamie O'Neil (Bath, N.Y./Haverling) led the Red Dragons and finished the game with seven points, scoring one goal with six assists. During the game, O'Neil continued to cement his legacy in Oneonta athletics and NCAA history as he recorded his 300th career point.

"Jamie is in rare company now," said Head Coach Pete Owens. "300 career points is an exclusive club. He's earned every bit of the accolades he receives."

Though there is not an exact number to be found, there are approximately fewer than 125 players, possibly fewer than 100, in NCAA history (55 years) to total 300 career points. With 173 goals and 128 assists for 301 points, O'Neil is the program and SUNYAC's all-time career points leader. He is three assists away from breaking Oneonta's career assist record, and he is currently the program's career goals leader, however junior Thomas Hnis (Smithtown, N.Y./Kings Park) is six goals behind him.

Hnis ended the day with the game-high five goals for five points, and senior Jason Monopoli (Setauket, NY/Ward Melville) scored a hat trick and added two assists for five points. Sophomore Tommy Hyland (Smithtown, NY/Smithtown) had a pair of goals and assists for four points, while freshman John Corvino (Goshen, NY/Goshen) recorded a hat trick for three points. Freshman Nick Martin (Clifton Park, NY/Shenendehowa) scored a goal and had two assists for three points, and both sophomore Cody Sharp (Ballston Lake, N.Y./Burnt Hills Ballston Lake) and freshman Ryan Babikian (Jamesville, NY/Jamesville-Dewitt) scored two goals in the win.

Senior Ryan Collins (Oceanside, NY/Oceanside) started in goal for the Red Dragons and played the first 45 minutes, saving four shots for a .500 save percentage. Junior Ben Thayer (South Setauket, N.Y./Ward Melville) played the final quarter and made two saves for a .500 save percentage. Sophomore Sean Grimes (Croton-on-Hudson, N.Y./Croton Harmon) was a remarkable 17-for-20 on faceoffs and collected the game-high 11 ground balls. Senior Tyler Carroll (Niskayuna, N.Y./Niskayuna) had a strong performance as well on faceoffs, going 8-for-13 while grabbing a ground ball. Junior Ryan Lussier (Burnt Hills, N.Y./Burnt Hills Ballston Lake) picked up five ground balls, and both junior Trey Fee (White Plains, NY/White Plains) and freshman Gavin McGrath (Pearl River, NY/Pearl River) caused two turnovers and secured three ground balls. 

After Canton's Jonney Mclear scored the first goal of the game, Oneonta totaled 16 straight goals to go into halftime up 16-1. The Red Dragons ended the first period up 3-1 with goals from sophomore Riley Royals (New Hyde Park, NY/Herricks), senior Shakim Carr (Brooklyn, N.Y./John Dewey), and Hnis, who were all assisted by O'Neil.

Hnis and O'Neil then led the charge in the second quarter as Hnis scored four goals in the period, while O'Neil had a goal with three assists. O'Neil hit his 300th-career point milestone on an assist to Hnis with 6:49 left in the quarter to go up 10-1. Monopoli, Sharp, and Hyland all totaled two goals in the period, and junior Finn Morris (Long Beach, N.Y./Long Beach) and Babikian scored once.

The Roos had Mclear record back-to-back goals to trim the deficit to 13, then the Red Dragons ended the third quarter on a 4-1 run to take a 20-4 lead. Babikian scored his 20th goal of his freshman campaign on a man-up advantage with an assist from junior Aidan Boyle (Yorktown Heights, N.Y./Yorktown). Corvino fired in a pair of goals and freshman Matt Sellitto (Smithtown, NY/Hauppauge) scored his fourth goal this season.

The Red Dragons outscored the Roos 4-2 in the final quarter for the 24-6 final. Martin assisted Corvino and Monopoli for their hat tricks, before he scored the final goal of the game. Freshman Shane Mueller (Pleasantville, NY/Pleasantville) scored his second career goal with an assist from freshman Jaden Langhorn (West Islip, NY/West Islip).

Oneonta outshot Canton 70-30 in total shots, 43-12 on net, and finished with a 44-20 advantage in ground balls. The Red Dragons went 18-for-18 on clear attempts, 4-for-10 on extra man opportunities, and the Roos were 19-for-26 on clears and 1-for-4 on the man-up. Canton's Mclear finished with four goals for four points, and Eli Bullock had one goal and two assists for three points.

"It was a great day celebrating our seniors," Coach Owens commented. "Our place in the conference tournament was already set before the game, so it was great to just focus on the honoring this group of players that have been transformational for our program."

Throughout the day, Oneonta celebrated and recognized the careers of their 10 seniors for Senior Day. Those honored were Shakim Carr (Brooklyn, N.Y./John Dewey), Tyler Carroll (Niskayuna, N.Y./Niskayuna), Ryan Collins (Oceanside, NY/Oceanside), Will Fruscio (Niskayuna, N.Y./Albany Academy), Aidan Greene (Smithtown, NY/Smithtown West), Sergio Ilario (Holbrook, N.Y./Sachem North), Daniel Macchiarella (Guilderland, N.Y./Guilderland), Jason Monopoli (Setauket, NY/Ward Melville), Jamie O'Neil (Bath, N.Y./Haverling), and Brian Zecchini (Oakdale, N.Y./Connetquot).

The Red Dragons will host the Bears in the SUNYAC semifinals on Wednesday at Red Dragon Field. The winner will advance to the SUNYAC Championship and face the winner of Cortland and Plattsburgh on Saturday, May 2. Read Full Article