CORTLAND, N.Y. – The nationally top-ranked Cortland men's lacrosse team completed its second consecutive unbeaten regular season with a 10-5 victory versus Potsdam Saturday afternoon in SUNYAC action. The Red Dragons improved to 15-0 overall and 6-0 in the conference and will host Potsdam in a conference semifinal game on Wednesday. The Bears fell to 6-7 and 2-4 with the loss.
Sophomore
Billy Davis (Manhasset) and freshman
James Stavrakis (Hillsborough, NJ) led Cortland with two goals each. Freshman
Zach Hopps (Akwesasne/Massena) scored a game-high five points on one goal and four assists. Senior
Brandon Mulholland (Levittown/MacArthur) and junior
Joe Slavik (Binghamton/Seton Catholic) recorded one goal and one assist apiece, while junior
Cody Consul (Webster/Webster Schroeder) and sophomores
Matt Rakoczy (Clifton Park/Albany Academy) and
Andrew Billups (New Rochelle) each netted a goal.
Senior goalie
Mike Kaminski (Sayville) made eight saves for the Red Dragons. Davis won 7 of 10 faceoffs and collected five ground balls, and freshman
Conner Johnston (Homer) was successful on 5 of 7 faceoffs. Mulholland added three caused turnovers, while sophomore
Luke McNaney (Marcellus) recorded four ground balls.
Senior Derek Frost (Buffalo/Williamsville East) paced the Bears with two goals and one assist. Junior Rob Kunz (Watertown/Immaculate Heart) had one goal and one assist, seniors Kyle Nicholas (Syracuse/Westhill) and Pat Morrill (Webster/Webster Thomas) tallied one goal each and junior Jeff Seager (Ballston Spa) chipped in with two assists.
Senior goalie Stefan Sloma (Niskayuna) registered 14 saves in 58 minutes, 23 seconds before giving way to senior Ryan Doyle (Baldwinsville/C.W. Baker), who did not face a shot on goal over the final 1:37. Sophomore Nick Waseleski (Victor) scooped up a team-high five ground balls, and senior Nick Peryea (Liverpool) added four.
Davis gave Cortland a 1-0 lead at 12:04 of the first quarter, but Frost tied the game less than two minutes later. Billups put Cortland back on top with a low bounce shot at 1:13 of the quarter to make it a 2-1 game through the opening 15 minutes. The Red Dragons pushed their lead to 5-1 with the first three goals of the second quarter. Stavrakis scored back-to-back goals early, and Slavik netted his goal at 3:02. The Bears took some momentum into halftime when Morrill scored with three seconds on the clock to pull Potsdam to within 5-2.
The Red Dragons appeared to take control of the game with goals from Mulholland and Rakoczy less than a minute into the third quarter and a score from Hopps at the 9:45 mark for an 8-2 advantage. Nicholas made it an 8-3 game at 8:43, but Davis and Consul tallied goals just seven seconds apart to give Cortland its largest lead of 10-3 with 6:32 left in the third. Kunz then netted a man-up goal 30 seconds before the end of the quarter, and Frost scored a man-up goal 2:24 into the fourth quarter to make it a 10-5 game. Neither team was able to find the back of the net the rest of the way and the 10-5 score held up.
Cortland 10, Potsdam 5
GAME SUMMARY:
Team 1-2-3-4 Final
Potsdam (6-7, 2-4 SUNYAC) 1-1-2-1 5
Cortland (15-0, 6-0 SUNYAC) 2-3-5-0 10
Scoring (Goals-Assists):
Potsdam: Derek Frost 2-1, Rob Kunz 1-1, Kyle Nicholas 1-0, Pat Morrill 1-0, Jeff Seager 0-2
Cortland:
Billy Davis 2-0,
James Stavrakis 2-0,
Zach Hopps 1-4,
Brandon Mulholland 1-1,
Joe Slavik 1-1,
Cody Consul 1-0,
Matt Rakoczy 1-0,
Andrew Billups 1-0,
Mike Cantelli 0-1,
Benjamin Dunlavey 0-1
Goalkeepers:
Potsdam: Stefan Sloma, 14 saves (10 GA in 58:23), Ryan Doyle, 0 saves (0 GA in 1:37)
Cortland:
Mike Kaminski, 8 saves (5 GA in 60:00)
Shots: Cortland 49, Potsdam 32
Ground Balls: Cortland 39, Potsdam 26
Turnovers: Potsdam 21, Cortland 17
Caused Turnovers: Potsdam 9, Cortland 7
Clears: Cortland 16-of-19, Potsdam 16-of-24
Faceoffs Won: Cortland 12, Potsdam 6
Penalties: Cortland 5-3:30, Potsdam 4-3:30
Extra-Man Offense: Potsdam 2-6, Cortland 0-4
