Canton, NY – The SUNY Canton men's lacrosse team cut a 9-2 SUNY Institute of Technology lead to 11-7 but ultimately could not overcome the early deficit falling, 13-7, on Saturday afternoon.

The Roos (3-8) scored the opening goal of the game 5:30 in when Tanner Pratt (Canton, NY) netted his 23rd of the season off a pretty pass from Garrett DiTullio (Potsdam, NY). Tyler Serva and Adam Reynolds each scored once to give the Wildcats (2-10) a 2-1 lead after one.

SUNYIT scored seven of the next eight goals as Serva and Reynolds scored two more each in the spurt to open up a 9-2 advantage midway through the third quarter. The Roos responded with five of the next seven tallies. DiTullio made it 9-3 with 7:17 left in the third as Jack Keenan (Brasher Falls, NY) won the faceoff and seven seconds later hit DiTullio with a pass for the goal.

Cardiff netted his seventh of the season with 4:13 left in the third and after Serva tallied his fourth of the game the Roos responded with three straight markers from Pratt, Keenan and Devin Gruneisen (Potsdam, NY) to make it 11-7.

The Wildcats added two goals in the final five minutes for the 13-7 final. Penalties played a major role in the game as the Roos were whistled for 15 infractions compared to just five for SUNYIT. The Wildcats scored four man-up goals, while SUNY Canton netted just one. The Roos held a 13-10 edge in the faceoff circle, while SUNYIT controlled ground balls (48-38) and shots on goal (29-15).

Dylan Dix (Rochester, NY) stopped 16 shots in net for the Roos, while Jeffrey Melnik registered eight saves for SUNYIT. Tony Carden (Franklin, MA) and Andrew Bowes (Irondequoit, NY) posted a team-high six ground balls each while combining to cause seven turnovers. Keenan added five ground balls and earned 11 face-off wins.

The men's lacrosse teams hosts its final home game of the season Tuesday when it squares off with Wells College at 4:00 p.m.