CORTLAND, N.Y. – The nationally top-ranked Cortland men's lacrosse team out scored Western New England University, 7-2, in the second half to earn a 12-7 victory in the NCAA Div. III Quarterfinals Wednesday night at the Stadium Complex. The Red Dragons improved to 19-0 on the season and will face RIT in a national semifinal game on Sunday. The Tigers defeated Tufts, 14-5, in a quarterfinal game also on Wednesday.

Ten different players scored for Cortland led by junior Mike Cummings (Syracuse/East Syracuse Minoa) and sophomore Benjamin Dunlavey (Elmira/Corning East) with two each. Junior Cody Consul (Webster/Webster Schroeder) recorded one goal and two assists and junior Joe Slavik (Binghamton/Seton Catholic) and sophomore Mike Cantelli (Holmdel, NJ) contributed one goal and one assist each. Senior Brandon Mulholland (Levittown/MacArthur), sophomores Patrick Brown (Camillus/West Genesee), Billy Davis (Manhasset) and Matt Rakoczy (Clifton Park/Albany Academy) and freshman James Stavrakis (Hillsborough, NJ) each tallied one goal.

Senior goalie Mike Kaminski (Sayville) stopped four shots for the Red Dragons. Freshman Pat Baldwin (Alpharetta, GA) won 14 of 17 faceoffs and collected a game-high nine ground balls. Slavik and senior C.J. Nye (Marcellus) registered five ground balls apiece.

Senior Ryan Marcus (South Hadley, MA) and junior Adam Knapton (Canandaigua) paced the Golden Bears' (13-7) offense with two goals each. Sophomore Jon Bota (Mahopac) had one goal and two assists, senior James Reardon (Longmeadow, MA) chipped in with one goal and one assist and junior Sean Lawton (Abington, MA) scored once.

Sophomore goalie Brandon Body (Newtown, CT) turned aside 14 shots. Senior Aaron Harris (Eliot, ME/Berwick Academy) scooped up six ground balls, while junior Jack Liacos (Beverly, MA) collected four.

The Red Dragons jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead less than seven minutes into the game as Dunlavey scored twice and Brown netted a goal. The Golden Bears answered with goals from Knapton, Lawton and Bota inside the final 6:15 to tie the game at the end of the quarter, 3-3. Cantelli and Reardon traded goals in the second quarter before Slavik gave Cortland a 5-4 lead at the half with a score 16 seconds before intermission.

After Marcus tied the game 41 seconds into the third quarter, the Red Dragons netted five of the next six goals from five different players to build a 10-6 lead at the end of 45 minutes. Knapton pulled Western New England to within 10-7 at the 8:15 mark of the fourth quarter, but Cummings and Rakoczy pushed the lead to 12-7 as Cortland extended its home winning streak to 31 straight. 

Cortland 12, WNEU 7

GAME SUMMARY:

Team                                 1-2-3-4    Final
WNEU (13-7)                    3-1-2-1          7
Cortland (19-0)                3-2-5-2        12

Scoring (Goals-Assists):
WNEU: Ryan Marcus 2-0, Adam Knapton 2-0, Jon Bota 1-2, James Reardon 1-1, Sean Lawton 1-0 
Cortland: Mike Cummings 2-0, Benjamin Dunlavey 2-0, Cody Consul 1-2, Joe Slavik 1-1, Mike Cantelli 1-1, Brandon Mulholland 1-0, Patrick Brown 1-0, Matt Rakoczy 1-0, Billy Davis 1-0, James Stavrakis 1-0, Zach Hopps 0-2, Pat Baldwin 0-1

Goalkeepers:
WNEU: Brandon Body, 14 saves (12 GA in 60:00)
Cortland: Mike Kaminski, 4 saves (7 GA in 60:00)

Shots: Cortland 53, WNEU 28
Ground Balls: Cortland 43, WNEU 30
Turnovers: WNEU 16, Cortland 14
Caused Turnovers: Cortland 9, WNEU 4
Clears: Cortland 12-of-14, WNEU 15-of-19
Faceoffs Won: Cortland 17, WNEU 5
Penalties: WNEU 2-2:00, Cortland 1-:30
Extra-Man Offense: Cortland 1-2, WNEU 0-1