Purchase, NY: The SUNY Cobleskill men's lacrosse team opened their 2025 season in commanding fashion, rolling past Purchase College 14-7 on Tuesday night.

The Tigers were fueled by a dynamic offensive performance from sophomore Alex Baker (Guilford, VT/Brattleboro Union), who filled the stat sheet with four goals, an assist, and three ground balls. Senior Albert Sippio (Syracuse, NY/ITC) also found the back of the net four times, firing 12 total shots with nine on target while scooping up three ground balls and causing three turnovers. Playmaker Rob Staubitz (East Rockaway, NY) orchestrated the offense with three assists, grabbed 11 ground balls, and caused three turnovers, while newcomer Noah Palange (Pompton Lakes, NJ) impressed in his debut with two goals and two assists.

In the cage, James Meier (Guilderland, NY) stood tall, recording 12 saves to anchor the Cobleskill defense. On faceoffs, Chris Sgueglia (Rochester, NY/Greece Athena) led the Tigers winning 7-of-15 while Tony Diaz (Bronx, NY/Mt. Saint Michael Academy) turned in a solid performance going 4-of-5.

Cobleskill controlled the pace of play, outshooting Purchase 43-37 and putting 27 shots on goal to the Panthers' 19. The Tigers also dominated the faceoff, winning 14 of 25 draws, and edged out Purchase in ground balls 29-25. Defensively, the Tigers disrupted Purchase's rhythm with 11 caused turnovers while limiting their opponent to just seven goals on the night.

Purchase struck first, breaking through at the 10:58 mark of the opening quarter. Cobleskill wasted little time responding as Baker fired a rocket past the Panthers' goalie to even the score. Minutes later, Baker set up Jordan Barrett (Schuylerville, NY) for his first career goal, giving the Tigers their first lead of the game. After Purchase clawed back to tie it at 3-3 with just over two minutes remaining in the period, Cobleskill countered with a quick-strike attack. Palange and Baker tallied goals just 48 seconds apart to put the Tigers ahead 5-3 at the end of the first.

Baker completed his hat trick early in the second quarter, stretching the lead to 6-3, before Sippio muscled his way inside for another tally to make it 7-3. Purchase battled back, trimming the deficit to 7-5 with 6:26 left in the half. Both teams generated scoring chances, but strong goaltending kept the scoreboard unchanged for the remainder of the quarter.

Emerging from halftime with momentum, Cobleskill struck quickly. William Wagner (Stillwater, NY) and Palange each buried goals to extend the lead to 9-5. Owen Martin (Olivebridge, NY/Onteora) added his first goal of the season off a Staubitz assist to push the advantage to 10-6 with 9:46 left in the third. Meier continued to stand tall in net, keeping Purchase at bay, while Sippio cashed in on back-to-back man-up opportunities to send the Tigers into the fourth quarter with a commanding 12-6 lead.

The Panthers managed to break through midway through the final frame, cutting the deficit to 12-7 with 5:57 left. However, the Tigers sealed the deal down the stretch. Sippio capped off his hat trick with a goal off another feed from Staubitz, and Baker tacked on a late score to wrap up a dominant season-opening win.

Cobleskill returns to action on Friday, March 7, when they travel to Anna Maria for a 6:00 p.m. non-conference showdown.