SPRINGFIELD, MASS. – The nationally fifth-ranked Cortland men's lacrosse team opened up a 6-0 lead at the half and went on to defeat host Western New England College, 9-1, in non-conference action Saturday afternoon. The Red Dragons improved to 10-2 with the win, while the Golden Bears fell to 10-4.

Seniors Chris DeLuca (Sayville) and Pat Hayes (Mastic/Eastport South Manor) and junior Mike Tota (Webster/Webster Schroeder) each scored twice for Cortland. Freshman Joe Slavik (Binghamton/Seton Catholic) recorded a goal and two assists, seniors Jay DiStefano (Huntington/Harborfields) and Neal Hopps (Akwesasne/Massena) had one goal and one assist apiece and junior Greg Wright (Irondequoit/West Irondequoit) chipped in with two assists. Freshman goalie Scott Tota (Webster/Webster Schroeder) turned aside nine shots to earn the win.

Freshman Justin McKinney (Niskayuna) tallied Western New England's goal with junior Liam Bokanovich (Sandwich, MA) collecting an assist. Junior goalie Brewster Knowlton (Somers, CT) made nine saves.

Cortland led just 1-0 after the first quarter on DiStefano's man-up goal at the four minute, 54 second mark, but the Red Dragons outscored the Golden Bears, 5-0, in the second quarter for a 6-0 lead at the break. Tota netted a pair of goals, and Wright picked up both of his assists in the stanza.

DeLuca made it a 7-0 game at 8:19 of the third before McKinney finally put Western New England on the scoreboard at 7:30 of the third. Hayes and DeLuca finished the scoring with goals at 6:36 and 5:01, respectively, of the fourth quarter. 

Cortland 9, Western New England 1

GAME SUMMARY:

Team                             1-2-3-4        Final
Cortland (10-2)             1-5-1-2             9
WNEC (10-4)                0-0-1-0             1

Scoring (Goals-Assists):
Cortland: Chris DeLuca 2-0, Pat Hayes 2-0, Mike Tota 2-0, Joe Slavik 1-2, Jay DiStefano 1-1, Neal Hopps 1-1, Greg Wright 0-2, Brian Winterfeldt 0-1 
WNEC: Justin McKinney 1-0, Liam Bokanovich 0-1

Goalkeepers:
Cortland: Scott Tota, 9 saves (1 GA in 60:00)
WNEC: Brewster Knowlton, 9 saves (9 GA in 60:00)

Shots: Cortland 29, WNEC 25
Ground Balls: WNEC 25, Cortland 13
Turnovers: WNEC 19, Cortland 14
Caused Turnovers: Cortland 6, WNEC 5
Clears: Cortland 17-of-19, WNEC 12-of-15
Faceoffs Won: WNEC 9, Cortland 5
Penalties: Cortland 6-4:30, WNEC 4-3:30
Extra-Man Offense: Cortland 3-4, WNEC 0-6
Record after the game: Cortland (Red Dragons) 10-2 (ranked 5th nationally in Div. III), WNEC (Golden Bears) 10-4