UTICA, NY – The Alfred University men's lacrosse team traveled to SUNY Poly on Saturday for a non-conference matchup with the Wildcats.
 
 
The Saxons (2-2, 0-0 Empire 8) came through with a close win by a score of 11-8.
 
 
Cale Donegan (Corning, NY / Corning-Painted Post) put Alfred ahead early with a goal less than three minutes into the contest.
 
 
Things got a little shaky for AU from that point as SUNY Poly scored three straight before Kevin Bragaglia (Holbrook, NY / Sachem North) netted a goal with just over a minute remaining in the first quarter.
 
 
After one period of play Alfred trailed the Wildcats 3-2.
 
 
SUNY Poly scored the only two goals of the second quarter and extended its lead over AU by three goals at halftime.
 
 
A big third quarter helped the Saxons get back into the game as they outscored the Wildcats 5-0 in the period to regain a 7-5 lead heading into the final quarter.
 
 
Donegan recorded the first goal of the fourth quarter before the teams traded scores in the final seven minutes of play.
 
 
At the end of the day, the big third quarter was enough to give AU the momentum it needed to come away with the road victory.
 
 
Donegan led the offensive effort for Alfred with three goals and two assists on the day.
 
 
Paul Forte (Greece, NY / Greece Athena) put away three goals on the day to keep his hot start to the season going.
 
 
Drew Cartwright (Elmira, NY / Elmira) scored one goal and had a team high four assists on the afternoon.
 
 
Noah Soriano (Nyack, NY / Nyack), Jason Berardicurti (Rochester, NY / Penfield) and Jonathan Kay (Webster, NY / Webster Schroeder) all scored one goal for Alfred while Jake McNaney (Corning, NY / Corning-Painted Post) added two assists.
 
 
The Saxons will have a quick turnaround as they head to Bethlehem, Pennsylvania on Monday to take on Moravian College at 4PM.