SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – A late Skidmore College men's lacrosse rally fell short, as the Thoroughbreds dropped a 9-8 non-conference decision to Clark Wednesday evening at Wachenheim Field.
 
Skidmore falls to 3-10 on the season. Clark improves to 8-6.
 
It was a low-scoring first half for both teams, but Skidmore took the early advantage, as Will Lukas and Ward Mahoney scored to put the Thoroughbreds ahead by a 2-1 score. Clark tied things up soon after, but Skidmore took advantage of a Clark turnover, as Eric Megnia broke the deadlock at the 8:37 mark. Later in the period after another Clark turnover, Nick DeBlasio made the Cougars pay with his goal, assisted by Lukas. Clark scored with just over four minutes left, as Skidmore took a 4-3 halftime lead.
 
Clark flipped the script early in the second half, as Bobby Filbin tallied two man-up goals to take a 5-4 lead. Jason Shlonsky briefly broke the run with a goal of his own, but Clark answered with two more goals to take a 7-5 lead into the fourth.
 
The Thoroughbreds rallied to tie the game at seven early in the final quarter. After the opening face-off win by Joe Breen and DeBlasio, Megnia tallied his second of the day to bring the deficit to one. With just under nine minutes to go, Skidmore made Clark pay for a slashing penalty, as Garrett Munck scored with a man up to tie the game at the 8:11 mark.
 
Clark took the lead for good after a Thoroughbred penalty, as Jack Pierce converted the Cougars' fourth man-up goal of the game, making it 8-7. Andrew Hollerbach later added the insurance goal and the 9-7 lead at the 5:04 mark.
 
With time ticking away, Logan Hart made a big defensive play to force a Clark turnover. Megnia quickly answered on the other end to reduce the deficit to one. Skidmore had one more opportunity in the final 3:17, but turned the ball over to the Cougars, who iced the final 2:38 for the victory.
 
Megnia led Skidmore with three goals on 12 shots. Lukas and Munck each added three points on a goal and two assists. Lukas also tallied four ground balls and caused three turnovers. Mahoney, DeBlasio, and Shlonsky also scored. Alex Miller added an assist, four ground balls, and two caused turnovers. On the defensive end, Hart was tied for the team lead with three caused turnovers, adding three ground balls. Tim Rahill tallied 15 saves, his 12^th double-digit save effort of the season.
 
Filbin tallied three goals to lead Clark. He also picked up eight ground balls. Nathan Maselek made 15 saves in the win.
 
Clark out shot Skidmore by a slim 43-41 advantage. Skidmore caused 22 Clark turnovers in the game, and was a near-perfect 25-for-26 on clear attempts.
 
Skidmore finishes the regular season with two league contests. The Thoroughbreds will make the trip south to Bard on Saturday at 3 p.m.