North Adams, MA: The SUNY Cobleskill men's lacrosse team came out firing but couldn't hold on down the stretch, falling 11-9 to MCLA in a North Atlantic Conference (NAC) matchup Saturday afternoon at Ron Shewcraft Field.

Senior attackman Albert Sippio (Syracuse, NY/ITC) turned in another standout performance, piling up four goals and two assists to go with four ground balls and a caused turnover. Alex Baker (Guilford, VT/Brattleboro Union) added two goals and an assist on six shots on goal, collecting four ground balls and one caused turnover. Noah Palange (Pompton Lakes, NJ/Pompton) chipped in a goal and an assist while scooping up three ground balls. Owen Martin (Olivebridge, NY/Onteora) and Jordan Barrett (Schuylerville, NY) each found the back of the net as well.

In goal, William Wagner (Stillwater, NY) made eight saves on 19 shots faced, allowing 11 goals to move to 1-3 on the season. At the faceoff X, Tony Diaz (Bronx, NY/Mt. Saint Michael Academy) put in a strong effort, winning 12-of-22 draws.

Despite the loss, the Tigers dominated several statistical categories, outshooting the Trailblazers 54-38, collecting more ground balls (43-31), and causing 34 turnovers to MCLA's 18. Cobleskill also won the faceoff battle and pressured the MCLA goalie into a whopping 28 saves. In the clear game, the Tigers completed 19-of-22 attempts, while MCLA finished just 22-of-36.

MCLA struck first less than three minutes in, but Cobleskill roared back with a three-goal flurry in two minutes to take a 3-1 lead. Sippio opened the scoring off a feed from Baker, followed by a solo strike from Palange, and a quick-stick finish from Martin in close. The Trailblazers responded late in the quarter to knot things at 3-3.

Sippio kept things rolling in the second quarter, tying the game at 4-4 before assisting on Barrett's snipe to reclaim the lead. He then completed his hat trick on a strong individual effort and capped the half with a late goal, sending the Tigers into the break up 7-4.

But the third quarter proved to be the turning point. MCLA came out with five unanswered goals, shutting down the Cobleskill offense and swinging momentum with a 5-0 frame to lead 9-7 heading into the fourth.

Baker reignited the offense in the final period, trimming the deficit to 10-8 with 11 minutes left. He added another tally to make it 11-9 with just three minutes to play, but despite a late push, the Tigers couldn't capitalize on their final looks as MCLA held on for the win.

Up Next:
Cobleskill returns home next Saturday, April 26, for a 12:00 p.m. NAC showdown against SUNY Delhi at the Soccer/Lacrosse Complex.