CAZENOVIA, N.Y. – Senior Brad Biggs (Tully, N.Y.) posted a career high nine points behind six goals and three assists Wednesday afternoon as visiting Morrisville State College men's lacrosse downed host Cazenovia College by a 19-5 North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) final in Cazenovia.
The Mustangs claim the Route 20 Rivalry win for an eighth straight time, and remaining undefeated in NEAC action with a 6-0 conference record, while pulling their overall record even at 7-7. Cazenovia drops to 3-8, 2-4 in NEAC play.
Junior Nick Geswaldo (Lafayette, N.Y.) added four goals and four assists, while Joe Piedigrossi (Cortland, N.Y.) collected two scores.
Sophomore Chris Dovi (Cortland, N.Y.) posted a team high five assists, also notching a goal, as nine different Mustangs registered goals on the day.
Dan Sherlock (Tully, N.Y.) registered seven saves in the win for the Mustangs, appearing for 46 minutes between the pipes, before being relieved by Paul Gates (West Winfield, N.Y.) for the final 14. Gates turned away four.
Morrisville State dominated the hosts from the get-go, netting their first tally of the day a mere 14 seconds into the contest as Biggs connected with Geswaldo for the 1-0 visitor lead.
Piedigrossi added another less than a minute later, just two minutes after, Geswaldo collected another for the 3-0 Mustang lead.
Cazenovia was able to notch back-to-back goals to cut the deficit to one, but Morrisville State exploded for four straight goals, including two that came within 14 seconds of one another as they played man-down from Biggs and Dovi, carrying a 7-2 lead into the second quarter.
In the second, an early score from Bryan Cline (Cicero, N.Y.) added to the Mustangs lead before Biggs collected his second of the day off the feed from Geswaldo for the 9-2 advantage.
Cazenovia added a goal at the 6:56 mark in an attempt to rally, but the Mustangs notched two more before the end of the half for the 11-3 lead at the break.
It was all Morrisville State in the third as they shut out Cazenovia while exploding for six scores over the final 7:25 of the frame, three straight from Biggs who received the dish from Geswaldo.
Morrisville State added two more in the final quarter, a sixth from Biggs to put the game out of reach and give the visitors the conference victory.
Cazenovia had a hard time maintaining possession as Morrisville State caused 16 turnovers, five alone from the tenacity of freshman defender Chad Temple (Minoa, N.Y.), who also collected four ground balls.
The Mustangs for a third straight contest, dominated the face-off, winning 19-of-27, nine wins coming from junior Shawn Walberger (Fulton, N.Y.).
The ground ball battle also belonged to the visitors, who outgained the Wildcats 35-16.
Morrisville State returns to the field Saturday for their home finale, playing against SUNY Cobleskill at 2:30 p.m. on Drake Field.
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 & World Report Best Colleges 2018 issue and was also recognized in the Top Public Schools, Regional Colleges North in the 2018 Best Colleges rankings. For more information about Morrisville State College, visit www.morrisville.edu.
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