HOBOKEN, N.J. – Senior attacker Ryan Heath (Baldwinsville/C.W. Baker) and Billy Fuchs (Merrick/Sanford H. Calhoun) each scored three goals as nationally third-ranked Cortland opened the season with a 9-7 victory at Stevens Institute of Technology.

Heath also assisted on two goals for the Red Dragons, last year's NCAA Division III runner-up and the 2006 national champion. Senior Kyle Simensky (Locust Valley) added two goals and junior Joey Morgan (Putnam Valley) scored once, while senior Josh Cittadino (Baldwin) won 13-of-19 faceoffs. Junior goalie Matt Hipenbecker (Mountain Lakes, NJ) made nine saves for the victory.

Sophomore Daniel Prakopcyk (Clinton, NJ/North Hunterdon) led Stevens (1-1) with three goals and senior John Dolny (Mountain Lakes, NJ) scored twice. Freshman Dave Decker (Califon, NJ/Voorhees) made 15 saves for the Ducks, who are the top “also receiving votes” team in the latest USILA Division III Top 20 poll.

Stevens took an 1-0 lead just 23 seconds into the game on a man-up goal by Prakopcyk, but a Morgan goal 35 seconds later and two goals by Fuchs gave the Red Dragons a 3-1 lead after the first quarter. The hosts came back to outscore Cortland 3-1 in the second quarter and the teams were tied 4-4 at halftime.

Fuchs opened the second-half scoring 40 seconds into the third quarter and Heath added a man-up goal with 10:12 left to give Cortland a 6-4 lead. Prakopcyk answered with a man-up goal at the 7:55 mark, but Simensky tallied a man-down goal with 2:23 remaining and the Red Dragons took a 7-5 lead into the final quarter.

The lead grew to 9-5 on a Heath goal 2:47 into the fourth and a Simensky goal with 4:32 remaining. Stevens scored twice in the final two minutes to create the final margin.


GAME SUMMARY:
Team    1-2-3-4    Final    
Cortland (1-0)    3-1-3-2    9
Stevens Inst. (1-1)    1-3-1-2    7

Scoring (Goals-Assists):

Cortland: Ryan Heath 3-2, Billy Fuchs 3-0, Kyle Simensky 2-0, Joey Morgan 1-0, Adam Hyde 0-1, Josh Cittadino 0-1, Nick Bueti 0-1, Chris Hannon 0-1, Chris Dutkowsky 0-1
Stevens: Daniel Prakopcyk 3-0, John Dolny 2-0, Matt Keating 1-2, Jaeke Donahue 1-1, Alex Couture 0-1, Josh Holmes 0-1

Goalkeepers:
Cortland: Matt Hipenbecker, 9 saves (7 GA in 60:00)
Stevens: Dave Decker, 15 saves (9 GA in 60:00)

Shots: Cortland 42, Stevens 31
Ground Balls: Cortland 37, Stevens 28
Clears: Cortland 14-of-19, Stevens 21-of-27
Faceoffs Won: Cortland 14, Stevens 6
Penalties: Cortland 7-6:30, Stevens 4-3:00
Extra-Man Offense: Cortland 1-4, Stevens 2-7