Cardinal Points

Issue date: 4/20/07 Section: Sports

Media Credit: Shumpei Kishi Tom Spencer and fellow teammates try to attack Potsdam's net.

After nine straight SUNYAC losses - and securing its first SUNYAC win since defeating Brockport on the road back in April 2005 - the Plattsburgh State men's lacrosse team looks to avenge that loss this weekend when the Cardinals travel to Brockport.

"It's a tough conference to play in," PSUC lacrosse Head Coach P.J. Kavanagh said. "We've been undergoing a rebuilding process for about a year and a half in terms of recruiting and competing at a higher level and are now seeing those results."

The Cards took another SUNYAC loss on Wednesday to Potsdam. The Bears squeaked by the Cardinals 8-6 with goals by Bryan Copius, who had two, Kyle Norchi, Pete Quinn, Jimmy Tenny and Jack Cufari.

Most of the game remained close, with Plattsburgh's attempt to rally coming up short in the conference game.

Plattsburgh now stands at 8-4, 1-2 on the season.

Saturday's game was a bit easier for the Cards.

Scoring the first two goals, the Cardinals got off to a fast start, continuing their dominance throughout much of the game on its way to a 14-9 road win over Oswego.

Midway through the first period, Oswego rallied to tie the game at two but was unable to pull ahead and the Cards took a 10-5 lead at half.

The Cardinals now stand in fourth place, behind Cortland (8-4, 4-0), Potsdam (6-4, 3-0) and Geneseo (4-3, 2-0).

By forcing Oswego to play somewhat out of its element, the Cardinals managed to quicken the game pace by allowing the usual up-tempo playing style of the men's lacrosse team to neutralize any last-second Lakers comebacks.

"We're a very patient team," Kavanagh said. "We tried to use the clock to our advantage and push tempo. As a high-risk, high-reward team, our aggressive play allows us to control the ball more effectively and gives us more scoring chances."

Frank Sangiovanni led all scorers with eight points, including six goals, finally overcoming his past SUNYAC struggles. Sangiovanni leads the Cardinals with 30 goals this season. Norchi and Luke Weidlein each tallied four assists, with Norchi adding six points to push his season total to 41.

All in all it was a balanced team attack as six other Cardinals netted at least one goal in the winning effort over Oswego last Saturday. Copius, Tenny, Matt Billa, Jim Kennan, and Ian Helmer each scored one goal, while junior attack Pat Haertel finished with one goal and an assist.

Continued...

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