Cobleskill, NY: The SUNY Cobleskill lacrosse team came up short in their home opener on Saturday afternoon, falling to Thomas College 13-4 in North Atlantic Conference (NAC) play at the Soccer/Lacrosse Complex.

Senior attackman Albert Sippio (Syracuse, NY/ITC) led the Fighting Tigers' offense, recording his second straight hat trick with three goals on 10 shots while scooping up three ground balls. Alex Baker (Guilford, VT/Brattleboro Union) chipped in two assists along with two ground balls and a caused turnover. Midfielder Rob Staubitz (East Rockaway, NY) added an assist, four ground balls, and one caused turnover, while Noah Palange (Popmton Lakes, NJ/Pompton) found the back of the net late to round out the Cobleskill scoring.

In his debut between the pipes, freshman goalkeeper William Wagner (Stillwater, NY) made an impressive showing, turning aside 14 shots and collecting five ground balls. Wagner faced a heavy workload, staring down 50 total shots and 27 shots on cage, finishing with a .519 save percentage. At the faceoff X, Sippio went 4-for-17.

The Fighting Tigers (1-4/0-2) struggled to control possession throughout the afternoon, being outshot 50-25 overall and 27-11 in shots on target. Despite Wagner's strong performance in goal, Cobleskill was hampered by 23 turnovers compared to Thomas' 17 and was outworked on the ground with the Terriers holding a 43-21 edge in ground balls. On extra-man opportunities, the Tigers went 2-for-9, while the visitors capitalized on five of their six chances. Cobleskill also found themselves chasing possession, winning only four faceoffs in the contest.

Thomas College (2-6/1-0) opened the scoring with three quick goals in the first ten minutes, jumping out to a 3-0 lead. The Tigers responded late in the first quarter when Sippio sparked the offense with back-to-back tallies, the first set up by Baker, to make it a 3-2 game heading into the second.

Momentum shifted back to the Terriers in the second quarter as they rattled off five unanswered goals to extend their lead to 8-2 by halftime, taking control of the pace and flow of the game.

Cobleskill broke through midway through the third quarter when Staubitz found Sippio cutting through the middle, and Sippio finished his hat trick to cut the deficit to 9-3. However, Thomas answered with two more goals in the final minutes of the frame to widen the gap to 11-3 entering the fourth.

In the final quarter, both teams tightened up defensively with Wagner and the Thomas netminders trading key saves. With time winding down, Baker connected with Palange, who buried Cobleskill's fourth and final goal of the day.

Up Next:
Cobleskill will return to action next Saturday, April 6, when they host Maine Maritime Academy in NAC competition at 11:00 a.m. at the Soccer/Lacrosse Complex.