By Brandon Cruz
Zach Collins of the Panthers finished with a team leading four goals. (Photo by Maya Sison)
The Panthers Men’s Lacrosse team fell to the SUNY Cobleskill Fighting Tigers 14-7 on March 4, losing their first two games to start the season.
Senior journalism major Zach Collins led the Panthers with four goals, three of those coming in the first quarter, and eight shots on goal. Senior Albert Sippio and sophomore Alex Baker of the Fighting Tigers led the team with four goals each, with Baker scoring three of those in the first quarter of the game.
Panthers Head Coach Jake Fitzgerald is coaching in just his second regular season game of 2025. Even with the slow start, he’s kept a positive outlook on what has been an adjustment period for the team.
“It’s been fun,” Fitzgerald said. “A lot of freshmen, and a lot of new faces, and the guys have been good to me. That’s all I can really ask for.”
“No game is as you plan it,” junior political science major and midfielder for the Panthers, Kevon Joseph said. “The problem today was because we didn’t prepare. We have to prepare harder next time, and practice how we play.”
Panthers huddled up at halftime holding their hands in the air. (Photo by Brandon Cruz)
The Fighting Tigers matched their win total from 2024, winning their first game of the 2025 season. After going 1-11 last year and nearly winless for a year, sophomore midfielder Rob Staubitz hopes to turn the corner this year.
“Last season didn’t go the greatest,” Staubitz said. “We used that as motivation. All that anger and frustration we had from last season, we used that to bounce back this year, and as you can see, hopefully this year it’s going to change.”
Fighting Tigers Head Coach Greg Valachovic prefaced the importance of letting things flow each game, which is what he credits towards getting the win.
“I’ve told these guys for months that we’re going to make mistakes every single game,” Valachovic said. “We have to move on to the next play. Don’t let those mistakes define us. How we respond to those mistakes is what actually defines us.”
Sophomore psychology major and midfielder for the Panthers, Jacob Cabral, gave the team words of encouragement to take into their game against Cairn University on Saturday.
“We know the level we can play at, and we have to reach that level,” Cabral said. “Playing on the field, we can get it done. We can win these types of games.”
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