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With the game tied at seven heading into the fourth quarter, senior attack Casey Balzer (Nassau, N.Y.) reeled off three goals to propel the Oswego State men's lacrosse team (1-0) to a 10-7 win over Utica (1-1) Wednesday afternoon, March 6.
Balzer finished the game with five goals, as the Lakers notched their fourth straight victory against the Pioneers.
Utica raced out of the blocks scoring two goals in the first 90 seconds before Matt Palmer (So., Pittsford, N.Y.) put Oswego State on the board. The Pioneers netted their second man-up goal of the game to go ahead 3-1, but unassisted goals from Balzer and Troy Crevier (Fr., Webster, N.Y.) evened the score before the end of the quarter.
The Lakers carried the momentum into the second quarter as Connor Khammar (So., Camillus, N.Y.) and Nick Giampaolo (Jr., Setauket, N.Y.) gave the visitors a two-goal lead with six minutes remaining in the frame. However, Utica posted the final two markers of the half, as the teams went into halftime tied at five.
Pioneer Ben Winkler added his third goal of the game during a man-up situation in the opening 28 seconds of the third quarter followed by a goal from Scott Baron to put the home team back in front by two goals.
That would be the last of Utica's scoring for the rest of the game. Balzer scored with 10:48 on the clock to pull Oswego State within one, and Cody Hoose (So., Syracuse, N.Y.) tied the score yet again just before the third quarter expired when Giampaolo hit him with a pass.
Balzer took over the fourth quarter with two more goals in the opening five minutes, as the Lakers took a 5-3 lead. Connor Brown (Sr., Syracuse, N.Y.) found Balzer open for his final marker of the game with 37 seconds remaining to seal the victory.
Crevier helped set the tone for the Laker offense, as he finished the contest 10-for-15 on faceoffs and recorded five groundballs. Oswego State owned a 47-27 advantage in shots, but the Lakers were only able to 28 shots on goal. Utica stayed in the game courtesy of converting 4-of-10 man-up opportunites, while Oswego State was unable to score on its five extra attacker chances.
Laker goalie Bryan Martin (Jr., St. James, N.Y.) registered 11 saves and five groundballs in his first collegiate win. Pioneer goalie Trey Adams stopped eight shots.
Oswego State faces NCAA qualifier Adrian (2-1) Saturday, March 9, at the Athletic Turf Complex on Le Moyne's campus at 11 a.m.
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