Oneonta, NY: The SUNY Cobleskill men's lacrosse team battled through a tough North Atlantic Conference matchup on Sunday afternoon, falling to Maine Maritime Academy 28-6 at SUNY Oneonta's Red Dragon Field.

Senior captain Albert Sippio (Syracuse, NY/ITC) was the offensive spark for the Tigers, dialing up four goals on five shots on goal and collecting a pair of groundballs. Midfield playmaker Rob Staubitz (East Rockaway, NY) stepped up as the main distributor, dishing out a career-best four assists while scooping five groundballs. Attackman Alex Baker (Guilford, VT/Brattleboro Union) chipped in with two goals of his own and led the Tigers with six groundballs, also causing a turnover as he brought some grit to both ends of the field.

Between the pipes, first-year goalie William Wagner (Stillwater, NY) saw a barrage of shots from the Mariners, facing 55 in total with 44 on cage. Wagner stood tall under pressure, turning away a career-high 16 shots.

In the faceoff X, Cobleskill struggled to find rhythm. Chris Sgueglia (Rochester, NY/Greece Athena) went 3-for-22, Tony Diaz (Bronx, NY/Mt. Saint Michael Academy) finished 1-for-9, and Sippio went 0-for-5 against a dominant Maine Maritime unit that won 32 of 36 draws.

Maine controlled possession for most of the contest, outshooting Cobleskill 59-15 overall and 44-10 on goal. The Mariners also led in groundballs, 59-21, and dictated the tempo through their success on faceoffs. Despite the pressure, the Tigers forced 23 turnovers and limited their own mistakes with 29 turnovers on the day.

Cobleskill got on the board early with a man-up goal from Baker to even the score at 1-1 three minutes into the game. But the Mariners responded with a 5-0 run to close the first quarter up 6-1.
Sippio opened the second quarter with a goal to cut the deficit to 6-2, but Maine caught fire and reeled off 10 unanswered goals to take a 16-2 lead into the break.

The Tigers didn't go quietly, though. They found their footing in the fourth quarter, outscoring Maine 4-1 over the final 15 minutes. Sippio completed his hat trick in the fourth, scoring three times in the quarter, while Baker tacked on another and Staubitz added two assists to cap off his strong afternoon.

Up Next:
Cobleskill returns to the field on Wednesday, April 16, when they host Hilbert College at 4:00 p.m. in non-conference action at the Soccer/Lacrosse Complex.