SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – The Skidmore College men's lacrosse team fell short in its comeback effort, as visiting Clarkson picked up a narrow 6-5 victory in Liberty League action at Wachenheim Field Saturday afternoon.
 
The Thoroughbreds fall to 3-4 on the season and 0-2 in league play. Clarkson improves to 3-1 overall and 1-1 in the league.
 
Goals were hard to come by for both teams in this defensive battle. The Thoroughbreds outshot the Golden Knights by a 39-25 margin, but Clarkson gained the shots on goal advantage, 18-14.
 
It was a balanced scoring effort for Skidmore, with Jack Curry, RJ Caruso, Cody Legeza, Ian Maag, and Chris Melligon each tallying a goal. Curry tallied a pair of assists to lead the Thoroughbreds with three points. Brendon Halloran and Eric Megnia added an assist. Alex Miller led the Thoroughbreds with seven ground balls. Alex Towey and Jack McElgunn each caused two turnovers. Chris Baughan was stellar in net despite the loss, making 12 saves.
 
Marcus Lavarnway tallied a pair of goals to lead Clarkson, who also saw five different players score in a balanced effort. Ryan Gabriel was solid for the Golden Knights at the face-off "X", winning 8-of-13 chances. Colin Holt made nine saves in the victory.
 
It was a physical game throughout for two teams looking to pick up a crucial victory in the league standings. Clarkson tallied the opening goal in the game's first minute, but Skidmore would respond, with Curry finding Caruso to tie the game at the 10:10 mark. Skidmore would eventually take the lead with 4:05 to go in the first, as Curry found Legeza for the finish. Clarkson would score less than a minute later to tie the game at two heading into the second.
 
The game would grind down further with both teams combining for nine shots in the quarter. The Thoroughbreds would score the only goal of the period, taking the 3-2 lead as Curry got on the board with an assist from Halloran.
 
Clarkson came out of the halftime break with a pair of goals in the first minute, taking the 4-3 lead. The Golden Knights would tack on two more goals to take its largest lead of the game, 6-3, heading into the fourth quarter.
 
Skidmore would cut into the deficit with a crucial goal by Melligon at the 5:29 mark. A few minutes later, Skidmore would force the Clarkson turnover, leading to Maag's off-balance tally, reducing the deficit to one with 2:20 to go. Clarkson won the ensuing face-off, but Skidmore forced the turnover deep in its own end. Skidmore would get one chance to tie, but the shot by Legeza was just wide. Clarkson would later force the Skidmore turnover, running out the clock for the final margin.
 
The teams would combine for 11 penalties in the contest. Clarkson went 1-for-5 in extra man opportunities, while Skidmore went 0-for-6.
 
The Thoroughbreds will take a break from conference play, hosting No. 2 Wesleyan at Wachenheim Field next Saturday at 1 p.m.