HENNIKER, N.H. – Sophomore attackman Dilon Smith (Lindenhurst, N.Y./Lindenhurst) continued his hot streak offensively, entering his name in the program's record book with a 10-point performance in the Plattsburgh State men's lacrosse team's 20-7 non-conference win over New England College on Saturday afternoon at Don Melander Field.
 
Smith finished the game with a career-high 10 points on seven goals and three assists. His 10 points are the third-most in a single game in program history, while his seven goals are tied for the fourth-most in a single game in program history. He now leads the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) in points with 18 and ranks second in the conference in goals with 11.
 
Plattsburgh State rises to 2-1 overall with the win and next visits Middlebury College on Tuesday, March 10, at 4 p.m. New England College drops to 3-2 overall with the loss and next hosts Wheaton (Mass.) College on Wednesday, March 11, at 4 p.m.
 
Junior attackman Connor Wolff (Niskayuna, N.Y./Niskayuna) fired the opening salvo for Plattsburgh State 5:45 into the contest on a pass from senior midfielder Kevin Litchauer (Poughkeepsie, N.Y./Arlington), while New England College answered with a goal from junior attackman/midfielder Patrick Storie less than two minutes later. That wound up being the final goal of the first quarter, as the two teams were tied at 1-all through 15 minutes of play.
 
The Cardinals broke the game open with a 10-goal second quarter. Wolff earned an assist on a Smith goal before a man-up strike by Litchauer on an assist from junior midfielder Stephen Kane (Hampden, Mass./Minnechaug Regional) staked the Cardinals to a 4-1 advantage. Smith scored three consecutive goals in a span of less than five minutes, tallying a man-down goal on a pass from senior long-stick midfielder Kyle Smith (Holbrook, N.Y./Sachem East), scoring on a feed from freshman attackman Kieran Rowley (Long Beach, N.Y./Long Beach) and burying a pass from sophomore midfielder Zach Gill (Miller Place, N.Y./Rocky Point) to stake Plattsburgh State to a 7-1 lead. New England College's junior attackman Connor Smith broke up the run with a goal 3:27 before the intermission (Gill assist), while Plattsburgh State ended the half with four unanswered goals to take an 11-2 halftime advantage. Dilon Smith accounted for two goals in that surge, while Rowley and Kane each scored once. Litchauer and Wolff each earned assists.
 
Kane started the second half with a man-up goal just 15 seconds into the third quarter, while the Pilgrims' sophomore attackman Guershon Villiere made it a 12-3 game with 11:06 remaining in the third. Kane scored unassisted before New England College's graduate student midfielder Zach Cotoni fired in a goal 1:18 later. Dilon Smith scored man-up on a pass from Litchauer with 6:49 left in the stanza, while sophomore goalie Christian Bassi (Windham, N.H./Kimball Union Academy) earned his first collegiate point in connecting with Kyle Smith for a goal. Wolff buried a pass from Dilon Smith with 1:25 to go in the third to give Plattsburgh State a 16-4 cushion through three quarters of play.
 
The Pilgrims scored back-to-back goals on the strength of Storie and Connor Smith (senior attackman Jacob Blanchette assist), while Gill scored on a Wolff pass with 7:09 remaining in regulation to extend the Cardinal edge to 17-6. Senior midfielder Daniel Bonafede (Churchville, N.Y./Churchville-Chili), Litchauer and freshman midfielder Amos Grimm (Latham, N.Y./Shaker) all scored man-up, with Bonafede's goal and Litchauer's marker being assisted by Dilon Smith and Grimm's score being assisted by Wolff. The Pilgrims spelled the final score when Connor Smith tallied unassisted with 3:23 left.
 
Plattsburgh State finished with the upper hand in shots (53-36), while both teams scooped up 29 ground balls. The Cardinals went 6-for-10 on extra-man opportunities, while the Pilgrims were scoreless on six chances with the extra man. Plattsburgh State finished the day with a 17-for-28 performance on face-offs. On clears, the Cardinals were 20-for-21, while the Pilgrims were 17-for-21.
 
Beyond Dilon Smith, Litchauer and Wolff each posted six points on two goals and four assists, while Kane scored three times. Kyle Smith scooped up nine ground balls and caused a turnover, while graduate student defenseman Alec Tocco (Kerhonkson, N.Y./Rondout Valley) forced two turnovers. Sophomore face-off specialist Daniel Umbro (Harrison, N.Y./Harrison) dominated at the 'X,' going 16-for-25.
 
For New England College, Connor Smith had three goals, while Storie scored twice and scooped up five ground balls.
 
Bassi made 13 saves against six goals allowed in 52:52 of action to earn the win, while freshman goalie Killian Shea-Smith (St. Albans, Vt./Tilton School [N.H.]) and junior goalie Kyle Dodge (Northport, N.Y./Northport) played the remainder of the game in goal. Shea-Smith, who made his first collegiate appearance, made one save, while Dodge stopped two shots. New England College had two goalies combine for 17 saves in the loss.