Men's Lacrosse Drops Heartbreaker at SUNY Canton

CANTON, N.Y. – Junior Alex Milliken (Hilton, N.Y.) tallied three goals and two assists for five points (3-2=5) on Wednesday as the Wells College men's lacrosse team posted a 12-11 loss at SUNY Canton. With the loss, the Express fall to 1-8 while the Kangaroos move to 4-5 on the year. 

Alongside his five points of offense, Milliken tied for the team lead with seven ground balls to his credit. Additionally, his five point effort moved him into second place all-time in team history with 132 career points as he has scored 90 goals and 42 assists (90-42=132), passing Daniel Munsell '13. 

Senior Connor Jansen (Horseheads, N.Y.) added a team-best four goals while sophomore Aaron Heisey (Mechanicsburg, Pa.) secured 14 face-off victories alongside a two goal, two assist performance on offense. Sophomore Brian Buttner (Highland Mills, N.Y.) registered two assists while classmate Tanner Mingen (Houston, Texas) poured in a goal and dished out one assist. 

Wells opened up a 2-0 lead as Milliken and Heisey carried the Express through the first 6:59 of action. Four-straight goals by SUNY Canton, however, put Wells down by a 4-2 margin through the first quarter. The Express rallied to register three of the second quarter's four goals, tying the game at five through 30 minutes of play. 

SUNY Canton scored the first three goals of the second half, creating a game-high deficit of three goals for Wells. Both teams scored twice across the next period of time, once again creating a three-goal hole for the visiting team that ultimately set up a late rally by the Express. 

Down by a 10-7 margin in the fourth quarter, Jansen scored two-straight goals before a man-up strike from Heisey knotted the game at 10 with 5:56 left in regulation time.  After a SUNY Canton goal, Milliken dramatically tied the game at 11 with 2:19 remaining, but a goal within the final minute by the Kangaroos' Trenton Yule dashed any hopes of a Wells victory. 

Wells goalkeeper Zachary Simone (Johnstown, N.Y.) made 10 saves in the loss while SUNY Canton's Kody Kocsis turned away 12-of-23 shots faced. 

The Express return to action this Saturday, Apr. 16 as it travels to SUNY Poly for a 1 p.m. contest.