POTSDAM, N.Y. – Morrisville State College men's lacrosse rallied for four goals in the final quarter, but it wasn't enough as host SUNY Potsdam claimed the 11-8 non-conference win in Potsdam Saturday afternoon.
The loss drops Morrisville State to 1-4 to date on the season as they resume play next Saturday, opening North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) play against Medaille College.
Chris Dovi (Cortland, N.Y.) and Nick Geswaldo (Lafeyette, N.Y.) each posted three goals in Morrisville State's efforts, Dovi adding two assists to his tallies on the day for the five point outing.
Corey Grace (Penn Yan, N.Y.) and Logan Peters (Yorktown Heights, N.Y.) each posted one to round out Morrisville State goal scorers.
Tyler Catalfano (Rochester, N.Y.) recorded 11 saves in the loss between the pipes before being replaced by Nick Martino (Tully, N.Y.) for the final four minutes of the contest.
Morrisville State, who outgained the Bears by a slim 33-31 margin in shots on the day, allowed three straight Bear tallies in the second quarter as the hosts opened the game to a four goal advantage.
Dovi was able to cut the deficit to three at the eight minute mark, netting the score off the feed from Shawn Walberger (Fulton, N.Y.), who won the face-off at the center X.
Geswaldo added a second tally of the day with 1:44 to go in the half, sending the game into the break with a 7-4 Potsdam lead.
Potsdam posted the lone two goals of the third quarter, increasing the lead to five, before notching one at the 12:40 mark in the fourth for the 10-4 lead.
Dovi notched his third of the afternoon just over a minute later to cut the lead to five, before the Mustangs took advantage of an extra man opportunity and notched another score at 8:25 as Grace buried the feed from Dovi.
Potsdam added a final score at 4:02 to regain the five goal advantage, but back to back tallies by the Mustangs made it a three goal game with nearly three minutes remaining.
Peters posted an unassisted score at 3:16 before Dovi connected with Geswaldo for his third of the day a mere 27 seconds later to cut the lead to three.
Morrisville State had a chance to pull within two, but two straight shot attempts sailed wide of the net and another was stopped short by Bears goalkeeper Jack Bezek to secure the win for the hosts.
Walberger dominated the center line, winning 16-of-23 face-offs and collecting a team high eight ground balls. Morrisville State won the ground ball battle, 35-28.
The Mustangs faceoff against Medaille College at 1 p.m. on Saturday, April 1st on Drake Field in Morrisville.
Morrisville State College's curricula are enriched with applied learning and pave the way for opportunity at both the Morrisville and Norwich campuses. An action-oriented, interactive learning lab, the college is a national leader in technology and has been lauded for its exemplary, innovative and effective community service programs.
The college was ranked among the Best Regional Colleges in the North by U.S. News and World Report Best Colleges 2016 issue and was also recognized in the Top Public Schools, Regional Colleges North in the 2016 Best Colleges rankings. For more information about Morrisville State College, visit www.morrisville.edu.
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