The Geneseo men's lacrosse team defeated SUNY Plattsburgh on Saturday, 14-6, despite an abnormally slow start.
The Knights fell behind 2-0 early in the first quarter but were able to respond with four straight goals to take the lead. Geneseo had a 7-4 lead at halftime but Plattsburgh pulled within two after an early third quarter goal. Later, Geneseo went on another four-goal stretch to put the game away.
Junior Craig Lange once again led the Knights, coming up with one goal and six assists. Lange leads the team with 45 points and 26 assists on the season. "The looks were there and the team was finishing every look," Lange said.
"[Lange] is a guy we rely on to play hard every game," said head coach Jim Lyons. "He's playing at a really high level and he's going to be better when we don't have to rely on him."
Geneseo also got big contributions from a number of role players including sophomore Tim Besio, who scored his first three goals of the season against the Cardinals. "Tim's playing hard in practice and his hard work is paying off," Lange said.
"We had some energy guys giving us an influx of energy off the bench," Lyons added. "Tim got some confidence playing against Cortland and he knew if he played that hard against a team that wasn't Cortland he could make an impact."
Other contributions came from sophomores Brendan Kurpis and Chris Adams, who each had two goals and an assist. Senior Erik Baranowski also scored two goals and took 16 of the 23 faceoffs.
The Knights defense had another solid day, holding Plattsburgh to just six goals. Geneseo averages only 7.4 goals per game thus far, and a major reason for that is the play of senior goalie Dennis Costanza, who made 15 saves Saturday.
"Defense is the strong point of our team," Lange said. "Dennis is playing amazingly."
"It's sort of a no-name unsung group," Lyons added. "When they focus they are tough to beat. They really take away scoring opportunities." Lyons cited players like freshmen Chris Topping and John Felix, seniors Shawn Mascia and Costanza and junior Joe May as a huge part of the teams' defense.
The Knights are now 8-2 on the season and go on the road to face SUNY Oneonta on Saturday.