Cobleskill, NY: The SUNY Cobleskill men's lacrosse team shook off a slow start and turned up the heat on both ends of the field Wednesday afternoon, rallying past Hilbert College for an 8-6 Senior Day victory. With temperatures dipping and fans bundled up, it was Noah Palange (Pompton Lakes, NJ/Pompton) who caught fire, notching his first career hat trick to lead the Fighting Tigers to their second win of the season.

Palange paced the attack with three goals, an assist, three ground balls, and a caused turnover. Senior Albert Sippio (Syracuse, NY/ITC) was flying around the field on his senior day, burying two goals and dishing out an assist while adding two ground balls and two caused turnovers. Rob Staubitz (East Rockaway, NY) was a menace between the lines, racking up two assists, a game-high eight ground balls, and five caused turnovers. Alex Baker (Guilford, VT/Brattleboro Union) recorded two assists and a goal while Owen Martin (Olivebridge, NY/Onteora) chipped in a goal and an assist. Jordan Barrett (Schuylerville, NY) tallied once on the man-up. Jorryn Falkowski (Spencerport, NY/Brockport) had a solid game with three caused turnovers and two ground balls.  

In cage, first-year goalie William Wagner (Stillwater, NY) stood tall in his first collegiate win, turning away eight shots for a .571 save percentage and collecting a ground ball. Faceoff specialist Tony Diaz (Bronx, NY/Mt. Saint Michael Academy) held his own at the X, going 8-of-15 on draws.

Cobleskill fired off 43 shots—23 on cage—while holding Hilbert to just 23 total attempts. The Fighting Tigers caused a season-high 15 turnovers, flipping the script on a Hilbert squad that scooped up 29 ground balls to Cobleskill's 23. Cobleskill tied its season-best with six assists. Clears were tight (17-of-22 for Cobleskill; 18-of-24 for Hilbert), and the man-up unit went 2-for-6, capitalizing at key moments.

Hilbert came out swinging, cashing in on a man-up goal to cap a 3-0 run just ten minutes in. Sippio got the Tigers on the board off a feed from Palange, then struck again with a clutch solo goal just before the horn to make it 3-2 after one.

That sparked a 7–0 run that stretched deep into the fourth quarter. Palange tied it up early in the second with a blast off a Staubitz dish, and from there, Cobleskill took over. Jordan Barrett gave Cobleskill its first lead with a man-up tally midway through the third, and Palange followed with another man-up rip to make it 5-3 heading into the fourth.

The Tigers kept the gas down in the final frame. Martin and Baker connected for two goals, with Martin scoring off a Baker assist, then flipping the roles moments later to extend the lead to 7–3. Palange completed his hat trick off a Sippio pass to give Cobleskill its largest lead.

Hilbert tried to claw back with three goals in the final five minutes—including two in the last two minutes—but the Cobleskill defense held firm to seal the win.

Up Next:
The Tigers hit the road for a NAC showdown at MCLA on Saturday, April 19, with faceoff set for 12:00 p.m.