DELHI, N.Y. (April 28, 2021) – Overcast skies set the mood for a NAC West grudge match Wednesday as SUNY Delhi hosted division-leading SUNY Poly. Both sides squared off in a rematch of their March 27 overtime thriller, won by Poly via a 9-8 score. Although the Broncos opened with a 2-0 lead and held a 5-2 advantage at the half, the Wildcats posted five unanswered in the second half to take a 7-5 victory. The defeat ended Delhi's season at 3-3 in the NAC West (3-4 overall), with the league tiebreaker giving SUNY Canton, also 3-3, the second and final spot for the NAC West playoffs this Saturday versus SUNY Poly (6-0 NAC West).
Logan Bauer opened the scoring with a first-quarter, man-up goal at 9:45, assisted by Jack McClurg. Leading scorer Aidan Costello followed up with an unassisted score with 8:34 to go in the first for an early two-goal lead. Poly answered right before the end of the period with a Lyle Beeman score to cut it down to 2-1 at quarter's end. The Wildcats then tied the game with 11:05 showing before halftime on a Brody Guido goal, only for Costello, King White and Greg Junge's extra-man goal put Delhi up 5-2 at intermission.
Poly took control in the second half, rallying to tie the game on three third-quarter goals from Ed Rosaschi on a man-up, Steven Sullivan, and Andrew Maycock. The Wildcats pounced on the lead for the first time when Murphy put them ahead with 10:16 left in the game. This was followed by a Maycock extra-man score with 8:59 to go. Delhi's best scoring attempts were thwarted by Poly goalie Matthew Johnson, who earned seven of his 13 saves in the fourth quarter alone. With just over three minutes to play, overcast skies turned to pouring rain and heavy winds, which put a damper on the Broncos' comeback hopes.
Keeper Dante Restaino charted 13 saves to headline a noteworthy defensive afternoon. Delhi forced 19 Poly turnovers and cleared on 14-of-17 attempts to the visitors' 13-of-20. The Broncos jumped on 2-of-10 man-up chances to the Wildcats' 2-of-5. Both sides split their 14 faceoffs, with Delhi's Nick Scarpa winning four and Nick Dower three.
Stay tuned for the unveiling of the All-North Atlantic Conference (NAC) Men's Lacrosse Team., set for release Tuesday, May 11.
