CORTLAND, N.Y. – Sophomore Matt Rakoczy (Clifton Park/Albany Academy) scored 48 seconds into the second overtime as the nationally top-ranked Cortland men's lacrosse team rallied for a 12-11 victory versus third-ranked RIT Wednesday afternoon at the SUNY Cortland Stadium Complex. The Red Dragons won their third overtime game of the season and second in a row to improve to 7-0, while the Tigers fell to 6-2 with both of their setbacks coming in extra time.

Rakoczy finished with a pair of goals for Cortland. Junior Joe Slavik (Binghamton/Seton Catholic) led the Red Dragons with three goals and one assist. Junior Cody Consul (Webster/Webster Schroeder) and sophomore Mike Cantelli (Holmdel, NJ) each had one goal and one assist, and seniors Thomas Casey (Yorktown) and Taylor Mendoza (Greensboro, NC/Western Guilford), junior Brian Winterfeldt (Merrick/Calhoun), sophomore Billy Davis (Manhasset) and freshman James Stavrakis (Hillsborough, NJ) netted one goal apiece. Freshman Zach Hopps (Akwesasne/Massena) recorded two assists.

Senior goalie Mike Kaminski (Sayville) made six saves. Freshman Pat Baldwin (Alpharetta, GA) won 9-of-18 faceoffs, including both in the overtime periods, and collected five ground balls. Davis won 5-of-10 faceoffs. Slavik and junior Doug Meehan (Sayville) each registered five ground balls, while senior Brandon Mulholland (Levittown/MacArthur) had four.

Sophomore Kyle Aquin (Hamilton, ON/St. John De Brebeuf) paced RIT's offense with three goals. Junior Taylor Wisman (Seattle, WA/Inglemoor) tallied two goals and one assist, junior Jack Krzyston (Bedford, NH/Bishop Guertin) scored twice, sophomore Eddie Kiesa (Jamesville/Jamesville-DeWitt) contributed one goal and four assists, sophomores Brad Gillies (Oakville, ON/St. Thomas Aquinas) and Allister Warren (Toronto, ON/Malvern) each chipped in with one goal and one assist and freshman Kyle Sterzin (Fairport) netted one goal.

Sophomore goalie Pat Johnston (Norwell, MA) stopped 12 shots for the Tigers. Junior Tyler Brooks-Lambert (Seneca Castle/Midlakes) won 13-of-22 faceoffs and recorded five ground balls, while Warren also collected five ground balls.

The contest was a game of momentum swings with each team taking turns in putting together goal runs. After Sterzin opened the scoring at 12 minutes, 34 seconds of the first quarter, the Red Dragons strung together three goals in 54 seconds for an early 3-1 lead. The Tigers answered with three consecutive scores of their own and led 4-3 before Slavik tied the game at 4-all after the first quarter. RIT outscored Cortland, 3-1, in the second quarter for a 7-5 lead at the break. Krzyston, Gillies and Aquin scored for the Tigers, while Mendoza netted the Red Dragons' goal.

Cortland regained momentum in the third quarter as Cantelli, Slavik and Rakoczy each found the back of the net to give the Red Dragons an 8-7 advantage with 15 minutes remaining. The game again quickly shifted when Cortland took a one-minute non-releasable penalty just eight seconds into the fourth quarter. The Tigers capitalized when Aquin and Wisman scored man-up goals 20 seconds apart and Warren fired a shot past Kaminski just nine seconds after the penalty expired for a 10-8 lead.

Davis cut the lead to 10-9 at 5:12, but Aquin responded with his third goal of the game on a diving effort in front with 4:18 remaining. Brooks-Lambert won the ensuing faceoff, but Mulholland forced a turnover with 3:29 on the clock. After a successful clear, Hopps fed Winterfeldt who buried a high shot from 15 yards out to make it 11-10. Cortland won the next faceoff, and Stavrakis tallied the game-tying goal with 52 seconds remaining off a pass from Consul. The Red Dragons won the following faceoff but turned the ball over with two seconds remaining to send the game into overtime.

Baldwin won the faceoff to start the first extra session. Cortland shot wide once and then Johnston denied Slavik's shot moments later. The Tigers worked a successful clear, but Meehan forced a turnover in the closing seconds and the teams headed to a second overtime. Baldwin again won the faceoff, and shortly after, Slavik fired a pass to Rakoczy on the right side, who ripped a high shot past Johnston to keep Cortland unbeaten on the season.   

Cortland 12, RIT 11 (2OT)

GAME SUMMARY:

Team                            1-2-3-4-O-O    Final
RIT (6-2)                       4-3-0-4-0-0      11
Cortland (7-0)              4-1-3-3-0-1      12

Scoring (Goals-Assists):
RIT: Kyle Aquin 3-0, Taylor Wisman 2-1, Jack Krzyston 2-0, Eddie Kiesa 1-4, Brad Gillies 1-1, Allister Warren 1-1, Kyle Sterzin 1-0, Mac Keehfus 0-1 
Cortland: Joe Slavik 3-1, Matt Rakoczy 2-0, Mike Cantelli 1-1, Cody Consul 1-1, Brian Winterfeldt 1-0, Taylor Mendoza 1-0, Thomas Casey 1-0, James Stavrakis 1-0, Billy Davis 1-0, Zach Hopps 0-2, Benjamin Dunlavey 0-1

Goalkeepers:
RIT: Pat Johnston, 12 saves (12 GA in 64:48)
Cortland: Mike Kaminski, 6 saves (11 GA in 64:48)

Shots: Cortland 44, RIT 28
Ground Balls: Cortland 35, RIT 29
Turnovers: RIT 19, Cortland 16
Caused Turnovers: Cortland 10, RIT 5
Clears: Cortland 16-of-20, RIT 13-of-16
Faceoffs Won: Cortland 14, RIT 14
Penalties: RIT 5-5:00, Cortland 3-2:00
Extra-Man Offense: RIT 3-5, Cortland 0-5