SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY – The Skidmore College men's lacrosse team kicked off the 2026 season in dominant fashion with a 23-6 victory over Hartwick at Wachenheim Field on Tuesday afternoon.
Sophomore
Michael Aiello led the charge with five goals and four assists as the Thoroughbreds (1-0) pulled away early in the opening minutes, before doubling up the Hawks (0-1) in total shot attempts, 59-to-29, while also gaining a 20-to-12 edge on faceoffs and forcing 21 Hartwick turnovers in an all-around effort.
Starting at goalie, sophomore
Marc Gadbois recorded his third career victory after tallying three saves in the first half. At faceoff, senior
Jason Fastiggi finished 9-of-14 while freshman
Wilder Finkel won 9-of-13 attempts.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Led by an early hat trick from Aiello, Skidmore seized control from the opening faceoff by immediately jumping out to a 6-0 lead over the Hawks with 7:30 to go in the first quarter.
- In the second quarter, the Thoroughbreds outscored Hartwick by a 9-1 margin to take a commanding 17-3 advantage into intermission, as freshman Joseph Killcommons and junior Jonathan Byrne led the period with two goals apiece.
- After Hartwick came out of halftime with consecutive scores, Skidmore answered with six unanswered goals to stretch the lead to 23-5 with 1:57 on the clock in the second half.
- Coming in relief to start the third quarter, senior Ethan Pham recorded eight saves in 21 minutes at goal, before freshman Olivier Yuk made his collegiate debut and tallied a pair of saves in the final eight minutes of action.
- The Skidmore first-year group of Killcommons, Leo Passalaqua, Joe Schwartz and Lukas Wammer all recorded their first collegiate goals and/or points in the victory.
STANDOUT THOROUGHBREDS
- Aiello scored five goals with four assists.
- Byrne tallied a hat trick with three goals.
- Sophomore Charlie Schutta recorded four assists with one goal.
- Sophomore Jake Weiner scored a goal with three assists.
- Wammer two goals with two assists.
UP NEXT
Skidmore travels out to MIT on Saturday for the road opener. Start time is set for 1 PM.