The Plattsburgh State men’s lacrosse team looked to rebound from a blowout loss by Clarkson University with a win against Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Wednesday.
Instead, the Cardinals were handed their second straight loss of the season, bringing their record to 1-2.
Head coach Joe May wasn’t impressed with his team’s effort in the game against the Clarkson Golden Knights, calling it, “one of the worst games in program history.”
PSUC lost 5-14 on the Golden Knight’s home field in Potsdam.
Entering Wednesday evening against RPI in Troy, May was looking for his team to hold its own against the 17th ranked team in Division III, and for three quarters, May thinks his team did just that.
Sophomore midfielder James Sherwood kicked off the game’s scoring with a goal in the opening minute. RPI responded with four unanswered goals within the first and second periods.
The Cards were able to cut into RPI’s three-goal lead by scoring two of their own.
The two teams went back-and-forth in scoring until the end of the third and start of the fourth quarters where RPI pulled away with seven goals to PSUC’s two, leaving a final score of 7-14.
Although the Cards lost, May liked how his team performed compared to last week.
“It was a dog fight for three quarters,” May said. “I was proud with the way the guys responded. Last week wasn’t very good. Today was a big step in the right direction.”
Junior attacker Jack Mullen, who led his team with four goals, also thought the team’s intensity was taken a step up from their last game against Clarkson.
“We played a lot better. We definitely played a lot harder,” Mullen said. “Defense played really well, but it was too much on RPI’s end.”
Going forward, May believes they’ll find success if they continue the season with the same intensity they’ve showed in practice.
“If we continue to play and practice like we did this week, we’ll achieve everything we want to achieve this year,” May said “We have the talent to win championships. We just need to continue competing really hard and putting maximum effort on the field.”
PSUC will have its next chance to get back in the win column when it continues its non-conference schedule against the University of Scranton tomorrow at 1 p.m. on a neutral field in Dix Hills.
Although the Cards are traveling for their next game, many of them will feel right at home.
Over two-thirds of the team are from Long Island, May said.
“We’re going to frame it like it’s the first home game of the year for us,” May said. “The guys are going to be fired up. They’re going to be playing in front of all their friends and family, a lot of alumni. They’re going to bring the juice.”
Mullen, a Long Beach native himself, is excited for Saturday.
“It feels like a big homecoming game for all of us,” he said.
