SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – The Skidmore College men's lacrosse team won its third game in a row, defeating Vassar 11-5 on a snowy Saturday afternoon at Wachenheim Field. It was the Liberty League opener for both teams.
 
The Thoroughbreds improve to 4-3 overall, and 1-0 in league play. The Brewers drop their league opening contest to fall to 0-1 and 6-2 overall.
 
Skidmore's Brendan Halloran exploded for seven points on four goals and three assists to lead all scorers, while Will Lukas added six points on two goals and a game-high four assists. RJ Caruso tallied a pair of goals and Jack Metzler, Paddy Fallon, and Cody Legeza tallied a goal each to wrap up the scoring. Metzler, Jack Curry, Ian Maag, and Justin Csenge provided assists.
 
Fallon, Halloran, and Ryan Warnock each tallied four ground balls on the defensive end, with Warnock going 8-for-16 at the faceoff 'X'. Fallon and Will Pottow caused a pair of turnovers. In goal, Chris Baughan made nine saves and added a ground ball to earn his third victory in a row.
 
Sam Houston-Read tallied four points on two goals and two assists to lead Vassar. Erik Mikelinich made four saves in the first half in net, while Matthew Boyd stopped six shots in the second.
 
Vassar jumped out to a 2-1 lead in the first five minutes of play. Skidmore turned it up from there, scoring four straight goals between the first and second quarters to jump out to a 5-2 lead. Vassar made it 5-3 with 4:25 remaining in the half and had a chance to cut the deficit to one. Baughan came up with a big save on the Vassar attack and Metzler went the other way 30 seconds later, giving Skidmore a 6-3 lead heading into halftime.
 
Skidmore effectively put the game away in the third quarter, keeping Vassar off the board while netting another four goals to push the advantage to 10-3. Vassar snapped Skidmore's 5-0 run in the fourth, and both teams traded goals for the final tally.
 
For the third straight contest, the Thoroughbreds had success in the midfield, holding the Brewers to converting on just 16-for-22 on clears. Skidmore held a 34-26 shot advantage as well as a 21-14 advantage on shots on goal. Skidmore was penalty-free in this contest and were held without a goal on two extra man opportunities.
 
Skidmore will next host SUNY Geneseo on Tuesday at 4 p.m.