MEDIA RELEASE
March 26, 2016
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – SUNY Plattsburgh outscored MIT, 8-2, in the second quarter en route to a 12-8 win in non-conference men’s lacrosse action at Roberts Field on Saturday afternoon. Junior Austin Belz (Bayport, N.Y.) led the Cardinals’ (4-3) balanced attack with three goals and an assist. Sophomore Mitch Turley (Westfield, Ind.) paced the Engineers (5-2) with two goals and two assists.
Sophomore Ryan Hubbard (Aquebogue, N.Y.) opened the scoring almost four minutes into the game while Belz increased Plattsburgh’s lead with a man-up goal at the 8:46 mark. MIT replied with its own extra-man score when senior Paul Orrson (Baltimore, Md.) connected on a pass from junior Harris Stolzenberg (Weston, Fla.) with 5:28 on the clock.
The Cardinals’ 2-1 edge grew during the first three minutes of the second stanza as strikes by freshman Kevin Sanford (Lynnfield, Mass.), senior Sean Murphy (Sayville, N.Y.), and Belz gave the visitors some breathing room. An unassisted marker by Turley narrowed the gap to 5-2 at the 10:55 mark but Plattsburgh finished off the frame with a 5-1 run to enter halftime with a 10-3 advantage.
Aside from a goal by MIT senior Jonah Hessels (Laytonsville, Md.) 4:19 into the third quarter, the remainder of the period was a defensive battle. In the fourth quarter, sophomore Matt Prokesch (Manorville, N.Y.) was a factor in what proved to be the Cardinals’ final goals of the day. He redirected a feed from Belz after three minutes elapsed and then set up senior Patrick Nash (Massapequa, N.Y.) just over six minutes later, pushing the margin to 12-4.
Despite the deficit the Engineers continued to attack during the final five minutes of regulation. Orrson started the spurt on a pass from Turley who then scored with 1:05 to go. Turley earned an assist on senior Luke Verdi’s (Middletown, Md.) blast with 43 seconds remaining. Orrson capped things off 18 seconds later as he completed the hat trick and registered the 100th point of his career.
Verdi and junior Michael Traub (Aliso Viejo, Calif.) both finished with one goal and one assist while sophomore David Klee (East Greenbush, N.Y.) collected four groundballs. Hessels contributed two caused turnovers as senior goalie Eric Bartell (San Diego, Calif.) totaled 13 saves and four groundballs.
Hubbard tallied one goal, one assist, three groundballs, and two caused turnovers while senior Joey Kromer (Clifton Park, N.Y.) was 16-of-21 in faceoffs and amassed 14 groundballs. Junior Joey Duckham (Poughquag, N.Y.) generated two caused turnovers as freshman Anthony DeCeglia (Northport, N.Y.) posted one goal and four groundballs. In net, senior Matt Massaria (Floral Park, N.Y.) produced 12 saves while freshman Keith Cakoyanis (Bethpage, N.Y.) and sophomore Austin Graham (Yorktown Heights, N.Y.) shared the final two minutes of goaltending duties.
Next up for MIT will be a trip to UMass Dartmouth on Tuesday, March 29. Plattsburgh returns to action the following day with a home game versus RPI.