CORTLAND, N.Y. – The nationally second-ranked Cortland men's lacrosse team opened up a 7-0 halftime lead en route to a 12-3 victory versus Clarkson University Wednesday afternoon at a cold and snowy Stadium Complex. The Red Dragons improved to 3-0 with the win, while the Golden Knights dropped to 0-1.

Senior Nate Garbarino (Binghamton) paced the Cortland offense with three goals and one assist, all on the first four goals of the game. Sophomore Zach Hopps (Akwesasne/Massena) recorded two goals and one assist, and junior Mike Cantelli (Holmdel, NJ) had one goal and one assist. Seniors Cody Consul (Webster/Webster Schroeder) and Joe Slavik (Binghamton/Seton Catholic), juniors Patrick Brown (Camillus/West Genesee), Matt Savlov (Liverpool) and Benjamin Dunlavey (Elmira/Corning East) and freshman Nate Beresovoy (LaFayette) each added a goal. Junior Matt Rakoczy (Clifton Park/Albany Academy) and sophomores Bradley Zamojski (Center Valley, PA/Southern Lehigh) and Anthony Vaccaro (Holtsville/Sachem East) collected one assist apiece.

Junior goalie Scott Tota (Webster/Webster Schroeder) registered seven saves in 57 minutes, 11 seconds before giving way to senior Nick Costabile (New Fairfield, CT), who stopped one shot over the final 2:49. Sophomore Pat Baldwin (Alpharetta, GA) won 8-of-9 faceoffs. Senior J.T. Foltz (Auburn) and junior Luke McNaney (Marcellus) each controlled four ground balls, while Brown recorded two caused turnovers.

Junior Matthew Gold (Pittsford) led Clarkson with one goal and one assist. Junior Cory Herrington (Camillus/West Genesee) and freshman Nate Smart (Navarino/Onondaga) added one goal each, and senior James Wright (Cazenovia/Lawrenceville School) chipped in with an assist. Junior goalie Harrison Washuta (Maple Grove, MN/Wayzata) made 15 saves. Junior Dylan Broomfield (Clinton) collected five ground balls, and senior Tim Krauss (Niskayuna) caused a game-high three turnovers.

Cortland led just 1-0 after the first quarter on Garbarino's man-up goal at the five-minute mark before taking control with a six-goal second quarter. Garbarino netted back-to-back goals at 11:37 and 9:48, respectively, then assisted Hopp's first goal at 8:32. Hopps followed with a man-up goal at 6:24, Brown scored an unassisted goal just 19 seconds later and Slavik closed the half with his goal at 4:32 for the 7-0 lead.

The Golden Knights finally broke a 32:20 scoring drought when Gold fed Herrington for an easy score in front at 12:40 of the third quarter. Clarkson pulled to within 7-2 on Gold's goal at 10:47, but Cortland finished off the quarter with three straight goals, one each from Consul, Beresovoy and Cantelli, for a 10-2 lead. Savlov netted his first of the season at 7:08 of the fourth before Smart scored the first of his career at 5:43. Dunlavey finished off the scoring with his third goal of the season at 2:15 off a pass from Zamojski for the 12-3 final.

Cortland 12, Clarkson 3

GAME SUMMARY:

Team 1-2-3-4 Final
Clarkson (0-1) 0-0-2-1 3
Cortland (3-0) 1-6-3-2 12

Scoring (Goals-Assists):
Clarkson: Matthew Gold 1-1, Cory Herrington 1-0, Nate Smart 1-0, James Wright 0-1
Cortland: Nate Garbarino 3-1, Zach Hopps 2-1, Mike Cantelli 1-1, Cody Consul 1-0, Joe Slavik 1-0, Patrick Brown 1-0, Matt Savlov 1-0, Benjamin Dunlavey 1-0, Nate Beresovoy 1-0, Matt Rakoczy 0-1, Bradley Zamojski 0-1, Anthony Vaccaro 0-1

Goalkeepers:
Clarkson: Harrison Washuta, 15 saves (12 GA in 60:00)
Cortland: Scott Tota, 7 saves (3 GA in 57:11), Nick Costabile, 1 save (0 GA in 2:49)

Shots: Cortland 50, Clarkson 23
Ground Balls: Cortland 36, Clarkson 25
Turnovers: Clarkson 23, Cortland 20
Caused Turnovers: Clarkson 8, Cortland 7
Clears: Cortland 20-of-24, Clarkson 14-of-21
Faceoffs Won: Cortland 11, Clarkson 8
Penalties: Clarkson 3-2:30, Cortland 3-2:00
Extra-Man Offense: Cortland 2-3, Clarkson 0-3