Rohrbach Scores Three in 12-8 Win Over Plattsburgh State

by: 

Tara Freeman

Senior captain Scott Smith had a goal and an assist against Plattsburgh State.

Apr. 7: St. Lawrence University sophomore Caldwell Rohrbach scored three times on Wednesday evening and the Saints' men's lacrosse team used an eight-goal run to rally past Plattsburgh State in Plattsburgh, NY by the score of 12-8 in the non-conference showdown.

The victory moved the Saints to 5-3 on the season thanks to a nine-save performance in the second half by first-year goalie Jeff Goeke, who relieved senior goalie Andrew Cochran at halftime after making six stops.  The loss was only the second in 2010 for Plattsburgh State, which is now 8-2 despite outshooting (41-37), earning more ground balls (33-23) and more face-off wins (17-of-23) than St. Lawrence.

"We've played some very talented teams this year and have been in numerous close games, so we were able to keep our composure despite trailing at halftime," said St. Lawrence head coach Mike Mahoney.  "Caldwell (Rohrbach) continued to play well, and both Andrew (Cochran) and Jeff (Goeke) made some big saves."

The Cardinals held a 2-1 lead after 15 minutes of action thanks to goals by Pete Morgan and Kyle Norchi, with Rohrbach getting the Scarlet and Brown on the board with his first of the game.  Plattsburgh State then rattled off the opening three goals of the second quarter to build a 5-1 advantage.  Goal scorers included Tom Kilderry, Ryan Price and Morgan.

First-year student Dave Schoettler scored the game's only man-up goal at 6:42 of the second frame to make it a 5-2 affair, while sophomore Kyle Jacobsen followed to make it a 5-3 game.  After Luke Weidlein got a tally back for the home team, senior captain John Manning and Rohrbach scored goals in the final two minutes of the half to close the game to 6-5 at halftime.

The late goals by Manning and Rohrbach gave the Saints the momentum heading into the third quarter, and the visitors used it to outscore their hosts 5-0 in the stanza to take a 10-6 lead.  Senior Nick Woodhull tied the game at 6-6 only 22 seconds into the third, and sophomore Matt Pope put the team ahead for the first time, 7-6, only 1:19 later.  Carpenter, Rohrbach and senior captain Scott Smith capped the scoring in the quarter to put the Saints ahead by four heading to the final quarter.

Senior CP Rahe took a pass from Smith and scored on Plattsburgh State goalie Logan Carpenter only 2:23 into the fourth quarter to give his team an 11-6 advantage and cap an eight-goal run.  Though Weidlein and Nick DeSantis scored goals only 55 seconds apart to pull the Cardinals back to within three, first-year student Mac Johnson put the game away, scoring with 4:52 left in regulation to give the Saints a 12-8 victory.

Ten different Saints scored in the contest, though Goeke's nine-save second half proved to be a key difference.  Carpenter finished with 13 saves for Plattsburgh State.

St. Lawrence will be in action against Union College at North Country Field on Saturday, April 10 at 1:00pm.