CASTLETON, Vt. – The Castleton University men's lacrosse team dropped a non-conference battle with SUNY Potsdam on Tuesday evening at Dave Wolk Stadium by a final score of 16-3.
The Bears (2-1) scored the first eight goals of the game before the Spartans (0-4) cracked the scoring column with the first of two goals by
Chris LaBonte. LaBonte scored Castleton's first two goals, finding the back of the net in both the second and third quarters.
The Spartans were outshot 53-30 overall and 34-13 on goal, while Potsdam held a 40-27 edge in ground balls and turned it over only 15 times to Castleton's 30. The Spartans were just 9-of-23 on the clear, while Potsdam was 17-of-22. Both teams scored twice on man-up opportunities, and Castleton held a 12-11 edge in face-offs.
LaBonte's two goals led the Spartans offensively, while
Sean Kimura added a pair of assists for a two-point night of his own.
Colter McComas was Castleton's other goal scorer, with
Collin Johnson collecting an assist on one of LaBonte's goals for a point of his own.
Hunter Sarro had a team-high four ground balls and two caused turnovers, while
Ryan Palmisano had three ground balls on 7-of-14 at the face-off dot.
Finn Miller won 5-of-9 face-offs for the Spartans. Chris wilk made 11 saves over 40 minutes in goal for Castleton.
Peyton Mavrides,
Myles French and
Zac Smith each saw action in goal, recording one or more saves apiece.
Cam Talcott and Peyton Walsh accounted for much of the Potsdam offense, scoring five times apiece. Alec Miller added three assists and Cobie Cree and Ryan Spaman had two assists each. Blaze Benedict had five ground balls and three caused turnovers, while Emil Martin went 7-of-16 in face-offs. Ben Fuchs earned the win in goal, stopping four shots and allowing only one goal in 30 minutes.
Potsdam roared out to an 8-0 lead at the midway mark of the second quarter before Johnson connected with LaBonte for the Spartans' first score. It was all Castleton could muster before the break, heading into halftime with the Spartans down 9-1.
The Bears struck first in the third quarter, but LaBonte answered quickly with his second of the game to make it 10-2. His second goal was assisted by Kimura. Potsdam tacked on three more scores to make it 13-2 before McComas netted a man-up goal from Kimura to give the Spartans their third and final goal in the contest. The Bears scored the final three goals of the game to make it a 16-3 final score.
Castleton continues its four-game homestand with a Saturday matchup against Utica at Dave Wolk Stadium. Opening face-off is set for 1 p.m.
