PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – After leading, 3-2, at halftime, the Plattsburgh State men's lacrosse team outscored SUNY Oneonta, 11-0, in the second half to post a 14-2 State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) victory over the Red Dragons in the Cardinals' final regular-season home game Wednesday at the Field House Complex.
 
The win locked up a top-two seed for Plattsburgh State in the SUNYAC Tournament, and the Cardinals can earn the No. 1 seed with a win over SUNY Geneseo coupled with a SUNY Cortland loss to SUNY Potsdam on Saturday, April 28.
 
While the offense posted its highest scoring output of the season, which included seven goals in the third quarter, senior goalie Donald Tesoriero (Huntington, N.Y./Huntington) also shined with a 10-save effort. Tesoriero held the Red Dragons scoreless in the second half, making five stops over the final 30 minutes of play.
 
The Cardinals finished with a 41-23 edge in shots and outgained the Red Dragons, 33-20, in ground balls. Oneonta did go 13-for-13 on clear attempts, while Plattsburgh State was 15-for-17 in transition. With the extra-man advantage, the Cardinals went 2-for-3, while the Red Dragons were 0-for-2. Oneonta won the battle at the X, going 11-for-19 on face-offs.
 
Plattsburgh State rises to 5-8 overall (4-1 SUNYAC) with the win and extends its winning streak to four with the victory. The Cardinals will visit SUNY Geneseo in their regular-season finale on Saturday, April 28, at 1 p.m. Oneonta drops to 4-9 overall (1-4 SUNYAC) with the loss and wraps up its regular season at home on Saturday, April 28, at 1 p.m. against The College at Brockport.
 
Senior midfielder Brad Johnston (Altamont, N.Y./Guilderland) scored unassisted 5:41 into the game, while Oneonta's junior attackman Michael Cegielski countered less than four minutes later with an unassisted tally of his own to knot the score at 1-all, which held through 15 minutes of play.
 
Senior midfielder Billy Moller (Greenlawn, N.Y./Harborfields) gave the Cardinals the lead for good by converting on a pass from sophomore midfielder Kevin Murphy (Sayville, N.Y./Sayville) 2:14 into the second quarter, and senior attackman Ryan Hubbard (Aquebogue, N.Y./Riverhead) extended the cushion with 1:24 to go before halftime, scoring on a feed from junior attackman Jake Carroll (East Northport, N.Y./Northport). Oneonta won the ensuing draw and scored eight seconds later, as senior attackman Hunter DeLuca found twine courtesy of a dish by junior attackman Stephen Panno. That cut the Red Dragon deficit to 3-2 heading into the intermission.
 
Plattsburgh State scored seven times in the third quarter to break the game open. Moller tallied unassisted 52 seconds into the third quarter before setting up freshman attackman Connor Wolff (Niskayuna, N.Y./Niskayuna) for a man-up goal 3:03 later. Moller completed the hat trick with just 5:31 gone in the third, as he buried a feed from freshman attackman Stephen Kane (Hampden, Mass./Minnechaug Regional). Sophomore midfielder Kevin Litchauer (Poughkeepsie, N.Y./Arlington) entered the goal column less than a minute later, scoring unassisted, before Kane connected with Murphy 32 seconds after Litchauer's goal. Litchauer struck again with 4:58 left in the third on a pass from Hubbard, and Carroll scored unassisted with 47 seconds left in the frame to put Plattsburgh State on top, 10-2, heading into the final regulation period.
 
Hubbard kicked off scoring in the fourth with an unassisted marker 2:38 into the quarter, while senior attackman E.J. Suris (Kings Park, N.Y./Smithtown West) earned his first career assist when he found Johnston for a goal less than two minutes later. Johnston completed his hat trick with 5:02 to go in regulation, while Moller cashed in on a man-up tally 3:29 before the final horn on a Litchauer assist.
 
Moller finished with a career-high five points on four goals and an assist, while Johnston notched his first career hat trick. Hubbard (two goals, one assist) and Litchauer (two goals, one assist) also recorded three points. Carroll and sophomore defenseman Kyle Smith (Holbrook, N.Y./Sachem East) each scooped up five ground balls, while Smith added two caused turnovers. Junior face-off specialist David Force (Albany, N.Y./Christian Brothers Academy) fared well at the X, going 7-for-12.
 
For Oneonta, DeLuca and Cegielski accounted for the team's two goals, while senior face-off specialist Troy Stasko scooped up seven ground balls and went 11-for-18 on face-offs. Senior long-stick midfielder Liam Quinn caused two turnovers to lead the defense.
 
Tesoriero moved to 4-4 for the season with the win in goal for the Cardinals, posting an .833 save percentage in the victory as a result of turning aside 10 of the 12 shots on goal he faced. Sophomore goalie Zachary Flynn made 14 saves in the loss for Oneonta.