PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – Sophomore attackman Dilon Smith (Lindenhurst, N.Y./Lindenhurst) registered a career-high five points on three goals and two assists, but the Plattsburgh State men's lacrosse team fell to Clarkson University, 15-6, in its home opener on Tuesday afternoon in non-conference action at the Field House Complex.
 
Clarkson finished with a 40-37 edge in shots and a 37-24 cushion in ground balls while going 15-for-24 at the face-off 'X.' The Cardinals went 16-for-20 on clears, while the Golden Knights were 26-for-32. Clarkson went 2-for-5 on extra-man opportunities, while Plattsburgh State was 1-for-6 with the extra-man advantage.
 
Plattsburgh State falls to 1-1 overall with the loss and next visits New England College on Saturday, March 7, at 3 p.m. Clarkson rises to 2-0 overall with the win and next visits the Rochester Institute of Technology on Saturday, March 7, at 12 p.m. in its Liberty League opener.
 
The Golden Knights never trailed, scoring the first four goals of the game. Sophomore midfielder Bryan Penney and senior attackman Connor Bartlett each scored unassisted in the first five minutes of the contest, while junior attackman Jay Considine connected with Penney and junior midfielder Matt Corbett found sophomore midfielder Will Britton with 2:49 left in the first quarter and 1:27 to go, respectively, to build a 4-0 cushion. Smith fed senior midfielder Daniel Bonafede (Churchville, N.Y./Churchville-Chili) for a goal with eight seconds left in the first quarter to put the Cardinals on the board.
 
Clarkson's senior attackman Pierce Currie scored a man-up goal on a pass from Bartlett 29 seconds into the second quarter, while Bartlett dished a pass that led to a goal from senior attackman Evan Burgett with 12:35 remaining in the second. Britton converted on a feed from freshman midfielder Adam Canfield just 30 seconds later to balloon the Golden Knight edge to 7-1. Freshman attackman Kieran Rowley (Long Beach, N.Y./Long Beach) broke up the Clarkson scoring spree with a goal of his own with 11:39 left in the second quarter, but Canfield and Bartlett scored on passes from Britton and senior midfielder Derek White, respectively, to construct a 9-2 advantage.
 
Plattsburgh State received a pair of goals from Smith just 48 seconds apart—the second of which came on a pass from sophomore midfielder Zach Gill (Miller Place, N.Y./Rocky Point) on the extra-man advantage—to pull within 9-4, while Considine relied on a Burgett assist to make it a six-goal game in favor of Clarkson. Smith scored just three seconds before the halftime horn, drawing the Cardinals within 10-5 heading into the intermission.
 
Clarkson's Bartlett connected with Considine 2:39 into the third quarter, while senior midfielder Robert Braceland (Stow, Mass./Nashoba Regional) scored his first career goal on a Smith feed from 'X' with 10:04 to go in the third. Senior midfielder Tanner Cioffi, Currie and sophomore midfielder Billy Bergan all scored in the final 6:44 of the third quarter, with Bergan's goal being assisted by Cioffi, to stake the Golden Knights to a 14-6 lead, while Currie's man-up strike from Considine with 13:26 left in the fourth rounded out scoring in the contest.
 
Beyond Smith, Rowley, Bonafede and Braceland all scored, while Gill dished out an assist. Junior short-stick defensive midfielder Justin Wise (Niskayuna, N.Y./Niskayuna) enjoyed a strong game defensively, scooping up eight ground balls and causing a turnover, while senior long-stick midfielder Kyle Smith (Holbrook, N.Y./Sachem East) went 8-for-15 on face-offs while causing three turnovers and collecting two ground balls.
 
Bartlett led Clarkson with five points on two goals and three assists, while Considine registered four points on two goals and two assists. Currie recorded three goals and added three ground balls. Defensively, senior defenseman Trevor Borchardt had four ground balls and two caused turnovers, while junior midfielder Riley Holzman went 15-for-24 at the 'X' and scooped up 12 ground balls.
 
Sophomore goalie Christian Bassi (Windham, N.H./Kimball Union Academy) made 11 saves in net for the Cardinals, while junior goalie Kevin Dyckman stopped 15 shots in between the pipes for the Golden Knights.