OWINGS MILLS, MD. – Cortland's rally from an 8-2 halftime deficit fell just short as the nationally sixth-ranked Red Dragons lost to fifth-ranked and defending national champion Stevenson University, 9-8, during the second day of Stevenson's Mustang Classic.

Cortland lost a pair of one-goal games to top-10 teams at the tournament and is now 5-3 on the season. The Red Dragons fell 10-9 in overtime to ninth-ranked Lynchburg on Friday. Stevenson improved to 8-1 with the win.

Billy Burgoyne led the hosts with three goals and Glen Tomkins finished with a goal and three assists. Stephen Banick and Colin Dabney each registered a goal and an assist and Dimitri Pecunes made nine saves.

Matt Rakoczy (Clifton Park/Albany Academy) led Cortland with two goals and two assists. Mike Cantelli (Holmdel, NJ) finished with two goals and an assist and Benjamin Dunlavey (Elmira/Corning East) scored twice. Scott Tota (Webster/Webster Schroeder) made 11 saves and allowed seven goals in 59:23 of action. Nick Costabile (New Fairfield, CT) played a combined 37 seconds at the end of the first two periods and allowed two goals.

Cortland used goals by Rakoczy and Patrick Brown (Camillus/West Genesee) 16 seconds apart midway through the third period to close within 8-4, but a man-up goal by Burgoyne with 6:48 left gave the Mustangs a 9-4 lead heading into the final period.

The Red Dragons scored the game's only four goals of the fourth quarter, starting with a Nate Beresovoy (LaFayette) tally with 13:55 left and a Rakoczy man-up goal with 10:26 left. Dunlavey's goal with 8:44 remaining drew Cortland within 9-7, and Cantelli recorded a man-up goal with 3:06 remaining to make it a one-goal contest.

Stevenson won the ensuing faceoff and missed two shots before turning the ball over with less than two minutes left. Rakoczy's attempt at a game-tying shot was stopped by Pecunes with 1:10 left, and the Red Dragons turned the ball over with about 50 seconds left.

Stevenson cleared the ball and, following a timeout, attempted to run out the clock, but Cortland forced a turnover. The Red Dragons were able to clear the ball with 10 seconds left but lost possession before being able to take a shot as the clock expired.

Cortland led 1-0 on a Cantelli goal 1:18 into the game, but Stevenson rattled off five straight goals to the end the period. The last three of those were extra-man scores, two by Burgoyne. Dunlavey opened the second-quarter scoring for Cortland with 7:53 left, but Stevenson responded with three goals in the last 4:35 to take its 8-2 halftime lead.

Stevenson outshot Cortland, 47-29, and won 15 of 20 faceoffs.

Cortland will open SUNYAC play at Potsdam next Saturday, March 29, at 1 p.m.


Stevenson 9, Cortland 8

GAME SUMMARY:

Team           1-2-3-4 Final
Cortland           1-1-2-4        8
Stevenson        5-3-1-0        9

Scoring (Goals-Assists):

Cortland: Matt Rakoczy 2-2, Mike Cantelli 2-1, Benjamin Dunlavey 2-0, Patrick Brown 1-0, Nate Beresovoy 1-0, Zach Hopps 0-2, Nate Garbarino 0-2
Stevenson: Billy Burgoyne 3-0, Glen Tomkins 1-3, Stephen Banick 1-1, Colin Dabney 1-1, Joe Balestrieri 1-0, Tony Rossi 1-0, Sam Wyatt 1-0, Chris Dashiell 0-2

Goalkeepers:

Cortland: Scott Tota, 11 saves (7 GA in 59:23), Nick Costabile, 0 saves (2 GA in 0:37)
Stevenson: Dimitri Pecunes, 9 saves (8 GA in 60:00)

Shots: Stevenson 47, Cortland 29
Ground Balls: Stevenson 33, Cortland 27
Turnovers: Stevenson 14, Cortland 11
Caused Turnovers: Cortland 7, Stevenson 5
Clears: Stevenson 13-of-14, Cortland 14-of-16
Faceoffs Won: Stevenson 15, Cortland 5
Penalties: Cortland 9-7:30, Stevenson 7-5:00
Extra-Man Offense: Stevenson 5-8, Cortland 3-6

Records after game: Cortland (Red Dragons) 5-3 (ranked 6th in Div. III); Stevenson (Mustangs) 8-1 (ranked 5th in Div. III)