Utica, N.Y. – The SUNY Poly men's lacrosse team dropped a home contest on Wednesday afternoon, falling 13–10 to the SUNY Morrisville Mustangs despite a strong second-quarter surge that brought the Wildcats within striking distance. With the loss the Wildcats drop to 3-2 on the season.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
Morrisville set the tone early in the opening quarter, capitalizing on possession and faceoff wins to build an early lead. Kyan Dohn opened the scoring at the 12:41 mark, and the Mustangs doubled their advantage just over two minutes later on a goal from Noah Taylor. SUNY Poly responded midway through the period when Luke Taylor found the back of the net to cut the deficit to 2–1, but Morrisville answered with two more tallies from John Carter and Jason Tedeschi to extend the lead to 4–1.
The Wildcats generated offensive pressure late in the quarter, with Mitchell Taylor finishing a feed from Kai Hew with 5:27 remaining to make it 4–2. SUNY Poly continued to create chances in the closing minutes, but Morrisville goalkeeper Blake Dunton made several key saves to preserve the two-goal margin heading into the second.
Morrisville quickly added to its lead in the second quarter, as Dean Mohammed scored twice in a nine-second span to push the advantage to 6–2. After a man-up goal from Kyan Dohn made it 7–2, the Wildcats began to find their rhythm offensively. Kai Hew sparked the run with a goal at the 8:12 mark, followed by Tanner Defren finishing off a pass from Ryan Carroll to cut the deficit to 7–4.
The Mustangs responded with a man-up tally from Noah Taylor and another goal from Dohn to stretch the lead to 9–4, but SUNY Poly closed the half with an impressive scoring burst. Ryan Carroll started the run with 1:31 remaining, followed by Luke Taylor and Liam Podszebka scoring in quick succession. The Wildcats' three straight goals trimmed the deficit to 9–7 heading into halftime.
Both teams battled through a defensive third quarter, with scoring opportunities limited on each side. SUNY Poly created several chances early in the period, but Dunton turned away multiple shots to keep the Wildcats off the board. Morrisville eventually broke through at the 8:36 mark when Jason Tedeschi scored to extend the lead to 10–7. Tyler Baisley made several key saves down the stretch to keep SUNY Poly within reach entering the final quarter.
In the fourth, Morrisville maintained its edge with another goal from Dohn at the 10:05 mark to make it 11–7. The Wildcats continued to push offensively, breaking through when Ryan Carroll scored off an assist from Kai Hew with 7:52 remaining. However, Morrisville answered with a man-up goal from Dohn and another tally from Mohammed to push the lead to 13–9.
SUNY Poly refused to go away, as Casey Ryan scored with just under four minutes remaining and Carroll added a man-up goal in the final 30 seconds. Despite the late effort, the Wildcats were unable to complete the comeback, as Morrisville held on for the 13–10 victory.
