CORTLAND, N.Y. – Senior goalie Mike Kaminski (Sayville) turned aside 14 shots to earn Tournament MVP honors as the nationally top-ranked Cortland men's lacrosse team defeated 19th-ranked Plattsburgh, 9-2, in the championship game of the 12th annual SUNYAC Men's Lacrosse Tournament.

The Red Dragons improved to 17-0 on the season and earned an automatic NCAA Div. III playoff berth. The Cardinals, making their first-ever title-game appearance fell to 14-4.

NCAA selections and pairings will be announced on Sunday, May 5, at 10 p.m. on NCAA.com.

Eight Red Dragons scored at least a goal in the game led by sophomore Benjamin Dunlavey (Elmira/Corning East) with two. Freshman Zach Hopps (Akwesasne/Massena) tallied one goal and two assists, and junior Cody Consul (Webster/Webster Schroeder) contributed one goal and one assist.

Senior Brandon Mulholland (Levittown/MacArthur), sophomores Matt Rakoczy (Clifton Park/Albany Academy), Mike Cantelli (Holmdel, NJ) and Billy Davis (Manhasset) and freshman James Stavrakis (Hillsborough, NJ) each scored a goal, while senior Taylor Mendoza (Greensboro, NC/Western Guilford), junior Joe Slavik (Binghamton/Seton Catholic) and sophomore Luke McNaney (Marcellus) contributed one assist apiece.

Freshman Pat Baldwin (Alpharetta, GA) won 8 of 13 faceoffs and recorded five ground balls, and junior Brian Winterfeldt (Merrick/Calhoun) also collected five ground balls.

Freshmen Brendan Damm (Montauk/East Hampton) and James Higgins (Wading River/Shoreham-Wading River) scored Plattsburgh's goals with sophomore James Read (Miller Place) registering an assist. Senior goalie Gordie Gehring (Jamesville/Jamesville-DeWitt) made 13 saves.

After Stavrakis and Damm traded goals early in the first quarter, neither team scored again until Dunlavey netted his first at 8:44 of the second quarter. Consul then added a goal 24 seconds later and Cortland led 3-1 at the half. The Red Dragons took control of the game by out scoring the Cardinals, 5-0, in the third quarter for an 8-1 lead. Five different players found the back of the net in the quarter. Plattsburgh finally broke a scoring drought of 48:55 when Higgins scored at 8:29 of the fourth quarter. Dunlavey finished off the scoring with his second goal of the game at the 3:09 mark of the fourth.

Joining Kaminski on the All-Tournament Team were Consul, Slavik, Baldwin and senior Craig Sullivan (Duxbury, MA) of Cortland, Gehring, junior Tom Duggan (Levittown/Levittown-Division) and sophomore Nick Parrella (Miller Place) of Plattsburgh, Nick Peryea and Brady Fremont of Potsdam and Jesse Elliott and Keenan Sullivan of Brockport.

     

Cortland 9, Plattsburgh 2

GAME SUMMARY:

Team                                 1-2-3-4    Final
Plattsburgh (14-4)           1-0-0-1        2
Cortland (17-0)                1-2-5-1        9

Scoring (Goals-Assists):
Plattsburgh: Brendan Damm 1-0, James Higgins 1-0, James Read 0-1 
Cortland: Benjamin Dunlavey 2-0, Zach Hopps 1-2, Cody Consul 1-1, Brandon Mulholland 1-0, Matt Rakoczy 1-0, James Stavrakis 1-0, Mike Cantelli 1-0, Billy Davis 1-0, Joe Slavik 0-1, Taylor Mendoza 0-1, Luke McNaney 0-1

Goalkeepers:
Plattsburgh: Gordie Gehring, 13 saves (9 GA in 60:00)
Cortland: Mike Kaminski, 14 saves (2 GA in 60:00)

Shots: Plattsburgh 37, Cortland 32
Ground Balls: Cortland 38, Plattsburgh 32
Turnovers: Cortland 19, Plattsburgh 19
Caused Turnovers: Cortland 11, Plattsburgh 6
Clears: Plattsburgh 21-of-26, Cortland 21-of-29
Faceoffs Won: Cortland 9, Plattsburgh 15
Penalties: Cortland 7-5:00, Plattsburgh 4-4:00
Extra-Man Offense: Plattsburgh 1-6, Cortland 1-4