ALFRED, NY -- The Alfred University men's lacrosse team went back-and-forth with SUNY Brockport on Wednesday afternoon, eventually coming out on top in an 8-7 final.

AU (7-4, 3-1 Empire 8) improved with its third conference win in a big way in a battle with the Golden Eagles (2-9, 2-2 Empire 8).

"Our defense played great today, making the stop when we needed it," Head Coach Jason Lockner said. "Alex Petrangelo (Niskayuna, NY/Niskayuna) made a key save and was great in the cage. Brady McGowan (Orchard Park, NY/Orchard Park) has been a huge asset at the defensive midfield position. Defensive battle today and the guys got it done! Brendan Riley (Fairport, NY/Fairport) got us the goal today when we needed it. What a machine! Time to move onto Hartwick."

The Saxons dropped behind just a minute into the game but roared back with three straight. It included goals from Cole Loewke (Hilton, NY/Hilton), Riley, and Sam Herle (Orchard Park, NY/Orchard Park). Michael Gruin (Hamburg, NY/Orchard Park) recorded assists on all three of the tallies.

AU would take the lead into the halftime break behind three more straight goals, including an additional one from Loewke. Nick Volpe (Corning, NY/Corning-Painted Post) recorded two of the tallies, and opened the third with the home team's lone man-up goal of the evening to complete his hat-trick. 

Offensively, AU went toe-to-toe with SUNY Brockport. Loewke lead the team with 12 shots with Riley not far behind at 10. They controlled play thanks to Hunter Cupp (Bath, NY/Haverling) winning 11-of-17 face-offs with a team-high seven ground balls. 

Defensively, AU was on top of it to keep things close. Five different Saxons recorded multiple caused turnovers, those being McGowan, Nicholas Kramer (Fredericksburg, VA/ St. John Paul the Great), Ben Cunningham (Dover, MD/The Gunston School), Ian Marsh (Corning, NY/Corning-Painted Post), and Christian Moon (Syracuse, NY/East Syracuse Minoa).

Behind them, Petrangelo recorded his first collegiate win in his first collegiate start. He wrapped up eight stops en route to the win, making some huge saves when the game was tied late in the fourth quarter.

The Saxons battled all afternoon with Brockport, trading the lead back and forth up until the finale. Eventually, Riley tacked on with Gruin recording his fifth assist with 4:44 to go in the game to earn Alfred University the big conference victory.

AU will turn its attention to Hartwick College in a road game on Saturday afternoon at 1:00 PM.