SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Senior midfielder Kevin Litchauer (Poughkeepsie, N.Y./Arlington) scored the game winner with 3:24 left in the first overtime period, helping lift the Plattsburgh State men's lacrosse team to a 10-9 win in its season opener over non-conference Skidmore College on Saturday at Wachenheim Field.
 
Senior long-stick midfielder Kyle Smith (Holbrook, N.Y./Sachem East) won the opening face-off of overtime, and after a shot went out of bounds, Plattsburgh State retained possession. Litchauer carried the ball into the top of the box, and after the Thoroughbreds switched defenders on him, he rifled a bounce shot past the Skidmore goalie to seal the overtime victory.
 
Smith, the reigning State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) Defensive Player of the Year, enjoyed a strong start to his senior season, scoring a career-high two goals while adding 10 ground balls and one caused turnover. He also went 5-of-9 at the 'X.' Litchauer and sophomore attackman Dilon Smith (Lindenhurst, N.Y./Lindenhurst) each tallied three points on a goal and two assists, while freshman attackman Kieran Rowley (Long Beach, N.Y./Long Beach) netted two goals in his collegiate debut.
 
Plattsburgh State rises to 1-0 overall with the win and next hosts Clarkson University on Tuesday, March 3, at 4 p.m. Skidmore falls to 1-1 overall with the loss and next hosts Castleton University on Tuesday, March 3, at 4 p.m.
 
Smith opened scoring with a goal just 2:46 into the contest before Skidmore countered with 4:40 left in the opening stanza, as junior midfielder Jason Shlonsky connected with senior midfielder Will Stricker. Junior attackman Zach Skowronek scored unassisted for the Thoroughbreds 2:03 later to give Skidmore a 2-1 lead through one quarter of play.
 
Rowley netted his first collegiate goal 23 seconds into the second quarter, as he used a feed from Litchauer to score man-up. Senior midfielder Daniel Bonafede (Churchville, N.Y./Churchville-Chili) found the back of the net just more than a minute later to give the Cardinals the lead, but Skidmore's freshman attackman Gregory Ross cashed in on a Stricker pass midway through the frame to knot the tally at 3-all. Dilon Smith fed Kyle Smith for a goal before Skidmore scored two straight to end the second quarter, as senior midfielder Ward Mahoney and junior attackman Stephen Wafalosky each tallied to stake the home team to a 5-4 halftime lead.
 
Skidmore opened up a two-goal lead when Wafalosky scored man-up on a pass from junior midfielder Alex Miller in the first two minutes of the third quarter, but Dilon Smith found sophomore midfielder Zach Gill (Miller Place, N.Y./Rocky Point) for a goal to cut the gap to one. Skowronek buried a man-up goal thanks to a Miller dish to extend the Thoroughbred edge to 7-5, but Rowley took advantage of an extra-man opportunity three minutes later, once again relying on a pass from Litchauer. Stricker's man-up strike put Skidmore back up by two, but Dilon Smith and junior midfielder Stephen Kane (Hampden, Mass./Minnechaug Regional) each scored down the stretch in the third to tie the game at 8-all. Kane's goal, which came on the extra-man advantage, was assisted by Gill.
 
It took nearly seven minutes for either team to add to the score in the fourth quarter, but sophomore attackman Kyle Fink doled on an assist on a Stricker goal with 8:23 to go to put the Thoroughbreds up, 9-8. Freshman midfielder Amos Grimm's (Latham, N.Y./Shaker) first collegiate goal squared the score at 9-all with 3:47 to go in regulation, and the Cardinals wound up forcing overtime.
 
Shots were even at 48 apiece, while Skidmore held a 34-30 edge in ground balls. Both teams were 11-for-22 at the 'X' and capitalized on multiple extra-man opportunities. Plattsburgh State was 3-for-5 with the extra-man advantage, while Skidmore was 3-for-6. On clears, the Thoroughbreds were 16-for-20, while the Cardinals were 17-for-26.
 
In addition to Smith, sophomore defenseman Justin Rocovich (Bohemia, N.Y./Connetquot) paced the Cardinals' defense with three caused turnovers, while sophomore face-off specialist Daniel Umbro (Harrison, N.Y./Harrison) went 6-for-12 on face-offs.
 
For Skidmore, Stricker paced the offense with four points on three goals and one assist, while Skowronek and Wafalosky buried two goals each. Senior face-off specialist Nick Georgalas went 7-for-14 on face-offs and scooped up six ground balls, while Stricker collected four ground balls and caused two turnovers.
 
In just his third collegiate appearance, sophomore goalie Christian Bassi (Windham, N.H./Kimball Union Academy) shined, making a career-high 14 saves and coming up with three ground balls to earn the win. Bassi nearly scored a goal on a full-field heave in the third quarter, but his shot drew iron and bounced into the midfield. Skidmore's sophomore goalie Benjamin Kacher turned aside nine shots in the loss.