Canton, NY – Austin Mesler tied a single-game program record with eight assists while scoring four times and Alex Jacobs and Tanner Amell scored five goals apiece to lead the men's lacrosse team to an 18-12 win against VTSU Castleton on Thursday.
 
THE BASICS

• Result: SUNY Canton 18, VTSU Castleton 12  
• Location: SUNY Canton Turf – Canton, NY
• Records: SUNY Canton (1-1) | VTSU Castleton (1-4)

 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• Castleton jumped out to an early 2-0 lead, but the Roos responded with a pair of goals from Amell and a man-up score from Jacobs to take their first lead of the game at 3-2.
• The Spartans knotted things up at 3-3 with back-to-back goals before Caeden Goodnough and Jacobs found the back of the net to give the Roos a 5-3 lead after one.
• Canton dominated play in the second quarter outscoring the visitors 5-2 in the stanza behind two goals from Jacobs and one each from Goodnough, Amell and Michael Newcomb as the hosts led 10-5 at intermission.
• The Roos kept the foot on the gas pedal to start the second half outscoring the Spartans once again 5-2 in the third quarter behind three goals from Mesler and one each from Amell and Sean Hornung. Canton led 15-7 after three quarters of play.
• With the game out of reach the Spartans were able to outscore Canton 5-3 over the final 15 minutes as the Roos emptied their bench.

 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Mesler led all players with 12 points on four goals and a game-high eight assists. His eight assists tied his own single-game program record he set last year at SUNY Delhi. Hunter Olsen '22 also had eight assists at MCLA (4/9/22).  
• Jacobs and Amell added five goals each and Goodnough chipped in two goals and three assists. Rilee St. Croix dished out two assists and Sean Hornung and Michael Newcomb scored once each. Devin Guerriero won 21 of 32 faceoffs and picked up a game-high six ground balls.
• Hunter Sarro led Castleton with three goals and two assists, while Preston Kozlowski and Ethan Esposito tallied three goals each.
• Shots on goal were even at 26 apiece with the Roos holding the upper hand in ground balls (44-24) and faceoffs (21-12). Canton went 18-for-21 on clears compared to a 13-for-18 mark for the Spartans. The Roos were 4-for-10 on extra man opportunities, while Castleton was 1-for-6.
• Hayden Todd made 14 saves in the win for the Roos, while Zac Smith turned aside seven shots allowing 17 goals over the first 50 minutes of action in the loss.
   

WHAT'S NEXT?
The Roos are back in action on Saturday when they host Utica University at 1 p.m.   
   

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.