CHESTER, PA. –  The nationally fifth-ranked Cortland men's lacrosse team built a 6-0 lead at intermission on the strength of four man-up goals and held off Widener in the second half to earn a 9-5 win in the season-opening game for both teams. 

Seven different players scored for the Red Dragons led by senior Mike Tota (Webster/Webster Schroeder), who found the back of the net three times. Senior Greg Wright (Irondequoit/West Irondequoit) tallied a game-high five points on a goal and four assists, sophomore Joe Slavik (Binghamton/Seton Catholic) recorded a goal and two assists and freshman Matt Rakoczy (Clifton Park/Albany Academy) contributed a goal and an assist in his first career collegiate game.

Seniors Brendan Bellew (Baldwin) and Matt Hoey (Auburn) and junior Sean Davern (Rochester/Irondequoit) each chipped in with a goal, while senior Zack Mulvaney (Deferiet/Carthage) registered an assist. Junior goalie Mike Kaminski (Sayville) made 12 saves, including five in the fourth quarter to help seal the win. Junior Nick Jarvis (Syracuse/Onondaga Central) won 10-of-16 faceoffs and collected a team-high five ground balls. 

Five different players netted one goal apiece for the Pride. Sophomore Robert Clemens (Aston, PA/Sun Valley) recorded a goal and an assist, and seniors Michael Bassani (Califon, NJ/DeSales) and Ryan Shewell (Ellicott City, MD/Loyola Blakefield) and juniors Josh Fox (Wynnewood, PA/Lower Merion) and Ryan Eidenshink (Elkins Park, PA/La Salle College H.S.) each scored once. Junior goalie Bobby Schluter (Kennett Square, PA/Tatnall School) stopped 11 shots. Junior Charlie Bytheway (Glen Mills, PA/Garnet Valley) registered game highs of four caused turnovers and six ground balls.

Davern, a long-stick midfielder, gave Cortland a 1-0 lead at nine minutes, 11 seconds of the opening quarter with the lone goal of the stanza. The Red Dragons out shot the Pride, 10-2, over the 15 minutes but hit the cage just four times.

In the second quarter, Cortland's man-up unit took over, scoring four times with three of the goals coming on one two-minute non-releasable penalty. After Wright assisted Hoey's even-strength goal at 12:06 to make it a 2-0 game, Cortland closed the half with the four extra-man goals. Slavik scored at 11:13 before Tota, Rakoczy and Wright netted goals in a 1:22 span to close the half.

The Pride made a run at Cortland in the third quarter, outscoring the Red Dragons 4-0. Eidenshink put Widener on the scoreboard at 9:29. The goal broke a scoreless string of 95:31 for the Pride against Cortland as the Red Dragons posted a shutout in 2011. Fox made it a 6-2 game at 8:20 and Clemens followed with his goal at 6:50. Bassani closed the quarter with a goal at the eight-second mark to pull Widener to within 6-4.

Bellew quickly halted Widener's momentum when he scored an unassisted goal just 53 seconds into the fourth quarter. Tota then netted back-to-back goals at 9:22 and 2:49 to give Cortland a commanding 9-4 lead. Shewell finished the scoring at 1:14 for the 9-5 final.

Cortland 9, Widener 5

GAME SUMMARY:
Team                           1-2-3-4    Final
Cortland (1-0)                1-5-0-3      9
Widener (0-1)                0-0-4-1      5

Scoring (Goals-Assists):
Cortland: Mike Tota 3-0, Greg Wright 1-4, Joe Slavik 1-2, Matt Rakoczy 1-1, Brendan Bellew 1-0, Matt Hoey 1-0, Sean Davern 1-0, Zack Mulvaney 0-1 
Widener: Robert Clemens 1-1, Josh Fox 1-0, Ryan Shewell 1-0, Michael Bassani 1-0, Ryan Eidenshink 1-0

Goalkeepers:
Cortland: Mike Kaminski, 12 saves (5 GA in 60:00)
Widener: Bobby Schluter, 11 saves (9 GA in 60:00)

Shots: Cortland 40, Widener 26
Ground Balls: Cortland 23, Widener 18
Turnovers: Widener 21, Cortland 19
Caused Turnovers: Cortland 13, Widener 7
Clears: Cortland 18-of-22, Widener 13-of-24
Faceoffs Won: Cortland 10, Widener 8
Penalties: Widener 6-6:30, Cortland 4-3:30
Extra-Man Offense: Cortland 4-9, Widener 0-4
Record after the game: Cortland (Red Dragons) 1-0 (ranked 5th nationally in Div. III), Widener (Pride) 0-1