SUNY Cortland Athletics

CORTLAND, N.Y. - Senior Matt Rakoczy (Clifton Park/Albany Academy) and junior Zach Hopps (Akwesasne/Massena) each recorded three goals and two assists to lead the nationally 10th-ranked Cortland men's lacrosse team to a 13-6 win versus ninth-ranked Endicott College Saturday evening in the second round of the NCAA Div. III playoffs. The Red Dragons improved to 16-4 on the season and advanced to their 14th consecutive national quarterfinal and face nationally top-ranked RIT on Wednesday at a time to be determined. The Gulls finished the season at 16-4.

With his two assists, Hopps became just the ninth player in program history to eclipse 100 for his career and currently sits at 101. Senior Mike Cantelli (Holmdel, NJ) added two goals and two assists for Cortland, while seniors Billy Davis (Manhasset), Benjamin Dunlavey (Elmira/Corning East) and Dan Southard (Onondaga) and sophomores Mike Hart (Cornelius, NC/Hough) and Austin Hope (Liverpool) each netted one goal. Sophomore T.J. deLyra (Brightwaters/Bay Shore) registered two assists, and senior Patrick Brown (Camillus/West Genesee) and sophomore Andrew Gonzalez (Sayville) contributed one assist apiece.

Senior goalie Scott Tota (Webster/Webster Schroeder) stopped 13 shots in 58:09 for Cortland before giving way to freshman Joe Scalise (Fairport), who did not face a shot on cage over the final 1:51. Junior Pat Baldwin (Alpharetta, GA) won 13-of-21 faceoffs and collected eight ground balls. Senior Luke McNaney (Marcellus) recorded four ground balls and two caused turnovers, Southard registered four ground balls and Rakoczy forced two turnovers.

Sophomore Will Jennings (Danvers, MA/Bridgton Academy) led Endicott with three goals. Sophomore Colin Bannon (Westport, CT/Staples) tallied one goal and one assist, and seniors Jeremy Morgan (Ridge/Longwood) and Harrison Cotter (Lordship, CT/Fairfield Prep) each netted a goal. Senior Kyle Weber (West Hartford, CT/Conard) and sophomore Tommy Hughes (Coram/Longwood) chipped in with one assist apiece.

Junior goalie Cameron Bell (Falmouth, ME) made 14 saves for the Gulls. Senior Ian Knechtle (New Canaan, CT) scooped up five ground balls and caused two turnovers.

Morgan opened the scoring for Endicott just 55 seconds into the game before Cantelli tied the score at the 8:13 mark. Jennings gave the Gulls their last lead of the game with his first goal of the night just past the midway point of the first quarter. Cortland took a 3-2 advantage after the first 15 minutes of play when Dunlavey scored at 2:00 and Hopps netted his first goal at 1:11. The Red Dragons outscored the Gulls, 4-0, in the second quarter to build a 7-2 lead at the break. Cantelli recorded a man-up goal at 12:50, Rakoczy tallied his first of the game at 5:36, Hopps scored at 3:08 and then picked up his 100th career assist on Southard's man-down goal 11 seconds before the end of the half.

Jennings opened the scoring 15 seconds into the third quarter while the Gulls had a two-man advantage, and Cotter followed with an unassisted goal at 10:51 to make it a 7-4 game. Hart and Hope gave Cortland back a five-goal lead at 9-4 with back-to-back goals, but Bannon answered just eight seconds after Hope's score and the Red Dragons held a 9-5 lead at the 8:51 mark. Cortland pushed the lead to 12-5 after three quarters as Rakoczy sandwiched a pair of goals around Davis' score. Neither team found the back of the net until 6:32 remained in the fourth quarter when Jennings tallied his third of the game. Hopps completed the scoring with his third goal of the game, a man-up score, at 5:14.  

Cortland 13, Endicott 6

GAME SUMMARY:

Team                   1-2-3-4 Final
Endicott               2-0-3-1    6
Cortland               3-4-5-1   13

Scoring (Goals-Assists):
Endicott: Will Jennings 3-0, Colin Bannon 1-1, Harrison Cotter 1-0, Jeremy Morgan 1-0, Kyle Weber 0-1, Tommy Hughes 0-1
Cortland: Matt Rakoczy 3-2, Zach Hopps 3-2, Mike Cantelli 2-2, Dan Southard 1-0, Benjamin Dunlavey 1-0, Billy Davis 1-0, Mike Hart 1-0, Austin Hope 1-0, T.J. deLyra 0-2, Andrew Gonzalez 0-1, Patrick Brown 0-1

Goalkeepers:
Endicott: Cameron Bell, 14 saves (13 GA in 60:00)
Cortland: Scott Tota, 13 saves (6 GA in 58:09), Joe Scalise, 0 saves (0 GA in 1:51)

Shots: Cortland 44, Endicott 28
Ground Balls: Cortland 33, Endicott 22
Turnovers: Endicott 16, Cortland 10
Caused Turnovers: Cortland 6, Endicott 3
Clears: Cortland 18-of-20, Endicott 17-of-21
Faceoffs Won: Cortland 13, Endicott 9
Penalties: Cortland 7-5:30, Endicott 6-5:00
Extra-Man Offense: Cortland 3-6, Endicott 2-6

Records after game: Cortland (Red Dragons) 16-4 (ranked 10th nationally in Div. III); Endicott (Gulls) 16-4 (ranked 9th nationally in Div. III)