ROCHESTER, N.Y. – Trailing 4-3 early in the second quarter, the nationally fifth-ranked Cortland men's lacrosse team went on a 10-0 scoring binge to take control of the game and easily defeated host Nazareth, 15-6, in non-conference action Monday afternoon. The Red Dragons improved to 8-2 with the victory, while the Golden Flyers had their five-game winning streak snapped and fell to 8-3.

Junior Mike Tota (Webster/Webster Schroeder) paced Cortland with three goals and an assist. Senior Jay DiStefano (Huntington/Harborfields) scored three times, and junior Greg Wright (Irondequoit/West Irondequoit) recorded a game-high five points on two goals and three assists. Senior Neal Hopps (Akwesasne/Massena) had two goals and an assist, senior Eric Martin (Fairport) scored twice and senior Chris DeLuca (Sayville) registered three assists and won 8-of-12 faceoffs.

Senior Justin Battino (Plainview) won 9-of-10 faceoffs for Cortland, and senior Justin Schneidman (Katonah/John Jay-Cross River) recorded five caused turnovers and six ground balls. Freshman goalie Scott Tota (Webster/Webster Schroeder) ran his record to 4-0 on the season, making five saves in 55 minutes, six seconds. Sophomore Mike Kaminski (Sayville) played the final 4:54 and turned aside four shots.

Senior Scott Castle (Skaneateles) scored a pair of goals for Nazareth. Senior Joe Jacobs-Ferderbar (Orchard Park) and freshman Trevar Haefele (Greene, ME/St. Dominic Regional) each had a goal and two assists, while junior Nate DeLone (Rochester/Rush-Henrietta) and sophomore Brian Wright (Franklin Lakes, NJ/Don Bosco Prep) netted one goal apiece. Sophomore goalie Tim Doyle (Macedon/Palmyra-Macedon) made seven saves in 43:25, and junior Grant Williams (Houston, TX/Westchester Academy) stopped one shot in 16:35.

Cortland took a 3-0 lead less than five minutes into the game as junior Eric Richards (Skaneateles) opened the scoring and Tota netted back-to-back man-up goals. The Golden Flyers battled back to tie the game at the end of one quarter as Castle sandwiched goals around Jacobs-Ferderbar's score. Haefele then gave Nazareth its only lead of the game with an unassisted goal 47 seconds into the second quarter, but the Red Dragons took control from that point. Cortland closed the half with six straight goals from five different players and led 9-4 at the break.

The Red Dragons poured in the first four goals of the third quarter, again spreading the offense as four different players scored, to make it a 10-goal run and a commanding 13-4 lead. DeLone finally stopped the streak with a goal one second before the end of the stanza. Wright opened the scoring for Cortland in the fourth quarter, before Nazareth's Wright netted his goal midway through the stanza and Hopps finished off the scoring at the 6:46 mark for the 15-6 final.  

Cortland 15, Nazareth 6

GAME SUMMARY:

Team                             1-2-3-4        Final
Cortland (8-2)               3-6-4-2           15
Nazareth (8-3)              3-1-1-1              6

Scoring (Goals-Assists):
Cortland: Mike Tota 3-1, Jay DiStefano 3-0, Greg Wright 2-3, Neal Hopps 2-1, Eric Martin 2-0, Eric Parah 1-0, Thomas Casey 1-0, Eric Richards 1-0, Chris DeLuca 0-3, Joe Slavik 0-1, Brian Winterfeldt 0-1 
Nazareth: Scott Castle 2-0, Joe Jacobs-Ferderbar 1-2, Trevar Haefele 1-2, Nate DeLone 1-0, Brian Wright 1-0

Goalkeepers:
Cortland: Scott Tota, 5 saves (6 GA in 55:06), Mike Kaminski, 4 saves (0 GA in 4:54)
Nazareth: Tim Doyle, 7 saves (12 GA in 43:25), Grant Williams, 1 save (3 GA in 16:35)

Shots: Cortland 42, Nazareth 30
Ground Balls: Cortland 52, Nazareth 37
Turnovers: Cortland 21, Nazareth 19
Caused Turnovers: Cortland 14, Nazareth 11
Clears: Cortland 15-of-16, Nazareth 16-of-22
Faceoffs Won: Cortland 17, Nazareth 6
Penalties: Nazareth 5-4:00, Cortland 3-2:30
Extra-Man Offense: Cortland 3-5, Nazareth 1-3
Record after the game: Cortland (Red Dragons) 8-2 (ranked 5th nationally in Div. III), Nazareth (Golden Flyers) 8-3