CORTLAND, N.Y. – The nationally eighth-ranked Cortland men's lacrosse team held Oneonta scoreless for 25 minutes, 17 seconds to start the game and went on to a 15-3 victory in the SUNYAC Semifinals Wednesday afternoon at a windy and rainy Stadium Complex. The home Red Dragons won their ninth straight game to improve to 14-3 on the season and will host Plattsburgh, an 11-6 winner at Potsdam, in the championship game on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. The visiting Red Dragons fell to 5-11 with the loss.

Sophomore Zach Hopps (Akwesasne/Massena) led Cortland with six points on four goals and two assists. Senior Joe Slavik (Binghamton/Seton Catholic) recorded three goals and one assist, junior Mike Cantelli (Holmdel, NJ) tallied two goals and two assists and junior Benjamin Dunlavey (Elmira/Corning East) scored twice. Seniors Stephen Burke (Yorktown) and Tyler Chin (Hauppauge) and juniors Matt Savlov (Liverpool) and Dieter Treusdell (Painted Post/Corning West) each netted a goal, and junior Matt Rakoczy (Clifton Park/Albany Academy) became the 50th player in school history to reach 100 career points with his assist early in the third quarter.

Junior Scott Tota (Webster/Webster Schroeder) played the first three quarters in the cage for Cortland, stopping 13 shots and allowing just one goal. Senior Nick Costabile (New Fairfield, CT) played the fourth quarter, making three saves. Sophomore Pat Baldwin (Alpharetta, GA) won 9-of-13 faceoffs and collected five ground balls. Tota and freshman Nate Beresovoy (LaFayette) registered four ground balls apiece, while seniors J.T. Foltz (Auburn) and Doug Meehan (Sayville) each caused two turnovers.

Sophomore Mike Metzger (Colonie) scored all three of Oneonta's goals. Sophomore Connor Coyle (Centerport/Harborfields) contributed two assists and sophomore Robert Neubert (Lake Ronkonkoma/Sachem East) chipped in with one assist. Freshman goalie Zach Reilly (Yorktown Heights/Yorktown) started the game but did not register a save in the first quarter. Sophomore Kevin Fitzpatrick (Rocky Point) played the final three quarters, turning aside 10 shots.

Cortland took a 5-0 lead after the first quarter. Slavik started the scoring at 12:28, then Dunlavey sandwiched a pair of goals around a Cantelli score before Hopps pushed the lead to 5-0 at the 39-second mark. Slavik netted his second of the game to open the scoring in the second quarter at 10:18, and Burke followed with a top-corner laser at 9:53 to bump the lead to 7-0. Metzger put Oneonta on the scoreboard with his first of the game at 4:43, and Hopps notched his second at 3:15 to send the game to the half at 8-1.

Cortland out scored Oneonta, 4-0, in the third quarter to take control of the game. Slavik scored from the left side at 13:30 off Rakoczy's milestone assist. Hopps then tallied back-to-back goals at 7:18 and 4:47 before Savlov made it a 12-1 game at 3:36. Metzger buried two consecutive goals to start the fourth quarter, but the host Red Dragons ended the game with the final three goals. Cantelli scored at 11:07, Teusdell tucked in a shot on the right side while being pushed into the crease and Chin made it a 15-3 final with an easy man-up goal with 47 seconds remaining.

Cortland 15, Oneonta 3

GAME SUMMARY:

Team                          1-2-3-4 Final
Oneonta (5-11)         0-1-0-2   3
Cortland (14-3)         5-3-4-3 15

Scoring (Goals-Assists):
Oneonta: Mike Metzger 3-0, Connor Coyle 0-2, Robert Neubert 0-1
Cortland: Zach Hopps 4-2, Joe Slavik 3-1, Mike Cantelli 2-2, Benjamin Dunlavey 2-0, Stephen Burke 1-0, Tyler Chin 1-0, Matt Savlov 1-0, Dieter Treusdell 1-0, Matt Rakoczy 0-1, Cody Consul 0-1, Eric Ohman 0-1, James Nielsen 0-1, Luke McNaney 0-1

Goalkeepers:
Oneonta: Zach Reilly, 0 saves (5 GA in 15:00), Kevin Fitzpatrick, 10 saves (10 GA in 45:00)
Cortland: Scott Tota, 13 saves (1 GA in 45:00), Nick Costabile, 3 saves (2 GA in 15:00)

Shots: Cortland 47, Oneonta 40
Ground Balls: Cortland 44, Oneonta 29
Turnovers: Oneonta 18, Cortland 16
Caused Turnovers: Cortland 11, Oneonta 5
Clears: Cortland 22-of-25, Oneonta 17-of-24
Faceoffs Won: Cortland 12, Oneonta 8
Penalties: Cortland 8-6:00, Oneonta 2-1:30
Extra-Man Offense: Oneonta 0-8, Cortland 1-2