Utica, NY – Hunter Olsen posted a game-high 10 points as the Roos outscored SUNY Poly 8-2 in the second quarter on their way to a thrilling 17-16 win in the North Atlantic Conference (NAC) championship semifinals on Friday.

THE BASICS

• Result: SUNY Canton 17, SUNY Poly 16
• Location: Wildcat Field – Utica, NY
• Records: SUNY Canton (9-6) | SUNY Poly (7-6)

 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• SUNY Poly jumped out to a 5-2 lead after the opening quarter and led 6-2 early in the second. The Roos responded with four straight goals, two from the stick of Austin Mesler and one each from Zack LaFave and Alex Jacobs to knot the game at six apiece with five minutes left in the second.
• After a Wildcat goal, the Roos scored the final four goals of the half from Kyle Fingar, Trent Dow, Caeden Goodnough and Carter Pooler. Canton led 10-7 at intermission.
• The Roos kept their momentum from the first half scoring the first three goals of the third quarter, two from Olsen and the other from Pooler to open a 13-7 lead.
• In a highly entertaining game Poly answered with four straight scores to get within 13-11 after three quarters.
• Jacobs and Mesler converted back-to-back goals to start the fourth before the Wildcats trimmed the deficit to one with 10:05 to play.
• Mesler and LaFave caged back-to-back goals to open a 17-14 lead with 6:55 to play.
• The Wildcats hung tough with a pair of goals to get within one with 3:11 left, but Canton hung on down the stretch to run out the clock.

 
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Olsen led all players with 10 points ans six assists to go with four goals and six ground balls. Mesler scored four times, Jacobs added two goals and an assist and Pooler and LaFave scored twice each.
• Goodnough and Dow supplied a goal and assist each and Fingar scored once. Noel Abreu picked up a team-high 11 ground balls.
• Edward Rosaschi led the Wildcats with five goals and an assist, Amelio Rip added three goals and two assists and Keshawn Clark chipped in three goals and an assist.
• Sam Servati was outstanding making 17 saves in the win, while Matthew Johnson made 11 saves in the loss for Poly.
• With his 10 points Olsen continued to improve his own program record and is now the only SUNY Canton men's lacrosse player to go over 200 career points! 

 
WHAT'S NEXT?
The Roos will advance to Sunday's NAC Championship game at 1 p.m. at SUNY Poly and face the winner of SUNY Delhi and Maine Maritime. Sunday's winner will earn the NAC's automatic qualifier to the NCAA Division III Championship tournament.
 


About SUNY Canton
As Northern New York's premier college for career-driven bachelor's degrees, associate degrees and professional certificate programs, SUNY Canton delivers quality hands-on programs in digital design, engineering technology, health, management and public service. Faculty members are noted for their professional real-world experience in addition to outstanding academic credentials. As SUNY's leader in online education, SUNY Canton OnLine offers hundreds of flexible and convenient courses as well as 23 online degree programs. The college placed first in 14 categories in a SUNY-Wide Student Opinion Survey, most notably in career services, tutoring, library resources, and classroom facilities. The SUNY Canton Kangaroos 15 traditional athletic teams compete at the NCAA Division III level as part of the North Atlantic Conference. SUNY Canton also features varsity esports and cheerleading.