UTICA, N.Y. – The SUNYIT Men's Lacrosse Team (0-2, 0-0 NEAC) fell in the home-opener of their inaugural season on Saturday, 21-4 to a powerhouse Oswego State team (4-0). Despite the lopsided score, the Wildcats showed poise and determination a-plenty, and the healthy Wildcat crowd seemed to reflect a general feeling that lacrosse and SUNYIT will have a bright future together.
The weather, for once, suited the fanfare and circumstance of the first lacrosse game ever to be played at recently opened Wildcat Stadium – temperatures soared into the high 70's as the rare March sun beat down on the field's bright new turf. While the conditions made for pleasant viewing, the unseasonably hot day may have played against the Wildcats – the Lakers scored 19 of their 21 goals after the first quarter, feeding off a deep roster of 40+ players.
The young Wildcats showed they could hang with the big boys for spurts, though, stymieing Oswego State for the first 14 minutes and 40 seconds of the first quarter. Freshman goalie Andre Shattell (Syracuse, N.Y. / Henninger) played a big part, registering three of his game-high 15 saves in the first period. The Lakers finally broke through with just 20 seconds left in the period on a goal by attacker Chris Porten, with the assist coming from senior Britt Leone.
The goal seemed to break some sort of spell, as with just a few seconds remaining in the period Laker middie Brian Slattery scooped up a groundball on the faceoff and surprised the Wildcats defense by instigating a bang-bang Oswego St. fast-break, culminating in a Casey Balzer goal from just outside the crease.
Oswego State's lightning two-goal sucker punch placed the momentum squarely in the visitor's corner, as the Lakers hung nine unanswered scores on the Wildcats in the second period to take an 11-0 lead into the half.
To their credit, SUNYIT came out fighting in the third. Jon Eguren (Vitoria, Spain / Cicero-North Syracuse) scored the first home goal of the season for SUNYIT at the 33-minute mark on an expert pass from senior Travis Bivins (Remsen, N.Y. / Remsen), and Trevor Totman (Dryden, N.Y. / Tompkins-Cortland CC) followed it up a few minutes later with his first goal of the season on a dish by Tyler Serva (Chenango Forks, N.Y. / Chenango Forks).
For the game Serva represented SUNYIT well on face-offs, claiming a respectable 10 of 23 while also leading SUNYIT in assists with 2. Eguren led the Wildcats in goals with 2, while attack-man Cody Hoose tied with Brandon Dzwonkowski for the Laker lead with 3 goals apiece.
For their next match the Wildcats will make the trip down to Mt. Saint Mary College for a Wednesday evening pairing. Game time is set for 6:00 pm.
