POTSDAM, N.Y. – Sophomore Joe Slavik (Binghamton/Seton Catholic) led all scorers with four goals as the nationally second-ranked Cortland men's lacrosse team earned a narrow 8-6 victory at Clarkson Saturday afternoon in non-conference action. The Red Dragons remained unbeaten on the season, pushing their record to 14-0, while the Golden Knights dropped to 8-5.

Senior Mike Tota (Webster/Webster Schroeder) was the only other Cortland player with multiple points, scoring two goals. Sophomore defenseman Brian Winterfeldt (Merrick/Calhoun) and freshman Nick Wolak (Rochester/Brighton) each netted a goal, while senior Zack Mulvaney (Deferiet/Carthage), sophomore Cody Consul (Webster/Webster Schroeder) and freshman Matt Rakoczy (Clifton Park/Albany Academy) recorded one assist apiece.

Junior goalie Mike Kaminski (Sayville) turned aside 14 shots and registered a game-high six ground balls. Winterfeldt collected five ground balls, and sophomore Doug Meehan (Sayville) had four.

Corey Herrington paced Clarkson with three goals. Kyle Kasprzyk contributed one goal and one assist, Tim Krauss and Mark Nortz each tallied one goal and Matt McCabe and Peter Goss each chipped in with an assist. Ryan Cole made nine saves in goal.

After Slavik opened the scoring at 13 minutes, 45 seconds of the first quarter, the Golden Knights built a 3-1 lead early in the second quarter. Kasprzyk tied the game at 5:40 of the first, and Nortz and Krauss scored 32 seconds apart to open the second quarter. Cortland answered with the final three goals of the quarter for a 4-3 lead at the half as Winterfeldt netted his sixth of the season and Tota notched back-to-back goals just over a minute apart.

The Red Dragons appeared to take control of the game with the first three goals of the third quarter for a 7-3 advantage. Slavik scored at 13:12 and 11:34, and Wolak found the back of the net just 29 seconds after Slavik's second score. Clarkson trimmed the lead to 7-5 as Herrington scored a man-up goal at 6:42 and connected again at 5:17.

Herrington's third goal of the game at the 11:28 mark of the fourth quarter pulled Clarkson to within 7-6. Slavik, however, netted an important insurance goal at 3:43 to make it 8-6, and the Golden Knights also took a one-minute penalty on the score to go a man down to hurt their chances for a late-game comeback.

Cortland 8, Clarkson 6

GAME SUMMARY:

Team                             1-2-3-4    Final
Cortland (14-0)            1-3-3-1      8
Clarkson (8-5)              1-2-2-1     6

Scoring (Goals-Assists):
Cortland: Joe Slavik 4-0, Mike Tota 2-0, Brian Winterfeldt 1-0, Nick Wolak 1-0, Zack Mulvaney 0-1, Cody Consul 0-1, Matt Rakoczy 0-1
Clarkson: Corey Herrington 3-0, Kyle Kazprzyk 1-1, Tim Krauss 1-0, Mark Nortz 1-0, Matt McCabe 0-1, Peter Goss 0-1

Goalkeepers:
Cortland: Mike Kaminski, 14 saves (6 GA in 60:00)
Clarkson: Ryan Cole, 9 saves (8 GA in 60:00)

Shots: Cortland 31, Clarkson 31 
Ground Balls: Cortland 27, Clarkson 25
Turnovers: Clarkson 17, Cortland 15
Caused Turnovers: Cortland 9, Clarkson 6
Clears: Cortland 15-of-16, Clarkson 17-of-21
Faceoffs Won: Clarkson 9, Cortland 8
Penalties: Cortland 4-3:30, Clarkson 2-2:00
Extra-Man Offense: Cortland 0-1, Clarkson 1-3