CHESTER, PA. –  The nationally fourth-ranked Cortland men's lacrosse team used balanced scoring to open its season with a 13-0 win at Widener University Saturday afternoon. The shutout was the Red Dragons' first since a 22-0 win versus Morrisville St. in 2009.

Ten different players scored goals for Cortland, led by senior Jay DiStefano (Huntington/Harborfields) and junior Greg Wright (Irondequoit/West Irondequoit) who each recorded two goals and an assist and junior Mike Tota (Webster/Webster Schroeder) who scored twice. Seniors Neal Hopps (Akwesasne/Massena) and Eric Parah (Baldwinsville/C.W. Baker) and freshman Mark Panneton (Niskayuna) recorded a goal and an assist apiece, while seniors Pat Hayes (Mastic/Eastport South Manor) and Eric Martin (Fairport), sophomore Thomas Casey (Yorktown) and freshman Joe Slavik (Binghamton/Seton Catholic) each netted a goal.

Sophomore goalie Mike Kaminski (Sayville) made seven saves in 55 minutes of action before giving way to freshman Scott Tota (Webster/Webster Schroeder), who stopped one shot in the final five minutes. Senior Chris DeLuca (Sayville) won 6-of-8 faceoffs, senior Justin Battino (Plainview) won 3-of-5 faceoffs and recorded a game-high four ground balls and sophomore Jake Smith (Rodman/South Jefferson) registered three caused turnovers.

Sophomore Bobby Schluter (Kennett Square, PA/Tatnall School) started in goal for the Pride (0-1), allowing six goals and stopping seven shots in the first half. Freshman Mac Nestler (Chatham, NJ) took over in the second half and made five saves while surrendering seven goals.

Slavik and Wright gave Cortland a 2-0 lead after the first quarter with goals less than two minutes apart early in the stanza. The Red Dragons bumped their lead to 6-0 at the half, taking the momentum into intermission with a three-goal outburst in the final two minutes, 21 seconds of the second quarter. DiStefano scored an unassisted goal at 14:04 to make it 3-0. The score remained the same until DeLuca assisted Wright's second goal at 2:21. DiStefano followed with his second of the game at 1:25 and Tota finished the run with a man-up goal at 55 seconds.

Cortland then bunched together three goals in 121 seconds midway through the third quarter to put the game away. Parah scored at 8:45, followed by Hayes at 8:24 and Tota at 7:44. Panneton added his first collegiate goal at 5:49 to put Cortland ahead 10-0. Hopps, Casey and Martin each found the back of the net in the fourth quarter to complete the scoring. 
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Cortland 13, Widener 0

GAME SUMMARY:
Team                           1-2-3-4    Final
Cortland (1-0)            2-4-4-3        13
Widener (0-1)             0-0-0-0          0

Scoring (Goals-Assists):
Cortland: Jay DiStefano 2-1, Greg Wright 2-1, Mike Tota 2-0, Neal Hopps 1-1, Eric Parah 1-1, Mark Panneton 1-1, Pat Hayes 1-0, Eric Martin 1-0, Thomas Casey 1-0, Joe Slavik 1-0, Chris DeLuca 0-1, Cody Consul 0-1 
Widener: no scoring

Goalkeepers:
Cortland: Mike Kaminski, 7 saves (0 GA in 55:00), Scott Tota, 1 save (0 GA in 5:00)
Widener: Bobby Schluter, 7 saves (6 GA in 30:00), Mac Nestler, 5 saves (7 GA in 30:00)

Shots: Cortland 43, Widener 25
Ground Balls: Cortland 21, Widener 14
Turnovers: Widener 20, Cortland 17
Caused Turnovers: Cortland 9, Widener 5
Clears: Cortland 17-of-20, Widener 14-of-18
Faceoffs Won: Cortland 9, Widener 6
Penalties: Cortland 2-2:00, Widener 2-1:30
Extra-Man Offense: Cortland 1-2, Widener 0-2
Record after the game: Cortland (Red Dragons) 1-0 (ranked 4th nationally in Div. III), Widener (Pride) 0-1