The Utica College men's lacrosse team led by three goals in the opening minutes of the second half but Plattsburgh State outscored the Pioneers 9-3 in the final 26:24 of the contest to earn a 15-12 victory in non conference play Saturday. Senior goalie Travis Wright stopped 24 shots -- just one save shy of his own school record -- in net for Utica, while Michael Bulger added a game-high four goals and one assist.

The Pioneers have now lost four in a row and look for their first victory of the season on Wednesday when they host first-year program Mount St. Mary at 4 p.m. Three of the Pioneers four losses this season have come by three goals or less. Plattsburgh has won three straight contests and improved to 6-1 overall.

The Cardinals jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first 4:46 of play behind goals from Kyle Norchi, Luke Weidlein, Joe Kramer and Nick DeSantis.

Bulger sparked the Pioneers comeback with a man-down goal, his 14th of the season, to cut the Cardinal lead to 4-1 with 5:56 to go in the first quarter. Bulger also opened the second quarter scoring when he tallied his second straight goal of the game to cut the Plattsburgh lead to 4-2 with 12:55 to go in the half.

The Pioneers would outscore Plattsburgh 4-2 in the final 11:40 of the first half to knot the score at 6-6 headed into halftime. Senior Corey Boulio netted the first and last goals of the run while Kevin Conway and Michael Brodhead also found the back of the net to help the Pioneers get right back into the contest.

Utica came out of the gates hot in the second half and netted three goals in the first 3:03 of the half to take a 9-6 lead. Bulger was credited with two of the three goals, while Conway also added his second of the day.

Plattsburgh responded with five consecutive goals in a span of 8:15 to take an 11-9 lead with 3:09 to go in the third quarter.

UC was able to tie the game up once more, after two consecutive goals by Boulio and classmate John Giordano, to send the contest into the final 15 minutes with the score tied at 11-11.

Plattsburgh scored four goals in the first 11:29 of the final quarter to put the game out of reach. UC senior captain Andrew Waite tallied his third goal of the season with 2:21 to go in the game but it proved to be too late as the Cardinals earned a three goal victory.

UC was outshot 48-29 on the day and the Cardinals also won 21-of-29 face off opportunities.

Senior defender Robert Schloop scooped up a game-high eight ground balls and caused three turnovers, while Boulio rattled off three goals and added four ground balls. Waite finished the day with one goal and two helpers.

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