CORTLAND, N.Y. - The nationally 18th-ranked Cortland men's lacrosse team scored seven straight goals in the second half to break open a close game in defeating Western New England, 16-8, at the Stadium Complex Friday afternoon in non-conference action. The Red Dragons improved to 3-0, while the Golden Bears dropped to 0-4.

Junior Nate Beresovoy (LaFayette) led nine Cortland goal scorers with three. Junior Thomas McNaney (Marcellus) tallied a game-high seven points on two goals and five assists. Junior Devin Phelps (Chittenango) recorded two goals and one assist, and seniors Andrew Gonzalez (Sayville) and T.J. deLyra (Brightwaters/Bay Shore) and junior Michael O'Connor (Ossining) each scored twice.

Sophomore Joey Panariello (Islip) chipped in with one goal and one assist for the Red Dragons. Senior Jimmy Nielsen (Miller Place) and junior Liam Erickson (Brewster) netted one goal apiece, and freshman Corey McMahon (Lindenhurst/St. John the Baptist) collected an assist.

Junior goalie Joe Scalise (Fairport) made six saves and registered three ground balls in 52:47 for Cortland. Freshman Jake Craybas (Bethel, CT) stopped two shots over the final 7:13. Senior Mike Hart (Cornelius, NC/Hough) won 14-of-21 faceoffs and scooped up a game-high 11 ground balls, while senior Dave Foster (Farmingville/Sachem East) caused two turnovers and collected three ground balls.

Freshman Nick Gamba (East Islip/St. Anthony's) led WNEU with two goals and one assist. Sophomore Jared Ward (Littleton, MA/St. John's) scored a pair of goals. Junior Nicholas Beauchamp (Wilbraham, MA/Minnechaug) tallied one goal and two assists, senior Frank Medlicott (Stanwood, WA/Archbishop Murphy) and sophomore Hunter Cocks (Walden/Valley Central) each contributed one goal and one assist, and freshman Liam Baker (Mount Laurel, NJ/Lenape) netted one goal.

Junior goalie Steven Kerr (Hopkinton, MA/St. John's Shrewsbury) turned aside 12 shots and scooped up three ground balls. Freshman Oskar Djusberg (Abington, MA/BC High) won 12 faceoffs and collected seven ground balls, while Ward and junior Marc Fiocco (Somers) each secured three ground balls.

Cortland took a 5-2 lead after the first quarter as four different players netted goals. The Red Dragons took an 8-4 advantage into halftime. After Medlicott's goal at 12:25 of the third quarter cut WNEU's deficit to 8-5, Cortland closed the quarter with six consecutive goals for a commanding 14-5 lead. Beresovoy's early goal in the fourth quarter made it a 15-5 game before the Golden Bears closed the contest with three of the final four goals, two on the man up.

Cortland 16, WNEU 8

GAME SUMMARY:

Team                  1-2-3-4 Final
WNEU                2-2-1-3       8
Cortland             5-3-6-2     16

Scoring (Goals-Assists):
WNEU: Nick Gamba 2-1, Jared Ward 2-0, Nicholas Beauchamp 1-2, Frank Medlicott 1-1, Hunter Cocks 1-1, Liam Baker 1-0 
Cortland: Nate Beresovoy 3-0, Thomas McNaney 2-5, Devin Phelps 2-1, Andrew Gonzalez 2-0, T.J. deLyra 2-0, Michael O'Connor 2-0, Joey Panariello 1-1, Jimmy Nielsen 1-0, Liam Erickson 1-0, Corey McMahon 0-1  

Goalkeepers:
WNEU: Steven Kerr, 12 saves (16 GA in 60:00)
Cortland: Joe Scalise, 6 saves (5 GA in 52:47), Jake Craybas, 2 saves (3 GA in 7:13) 

Shots: Cortland 46, WNEU 25
Ground Balls: Cortland 38, WNEU 30 
Turnovers: WNEU 20, Cortland 13
Caused Turnovers: Cortland 7, WNEU 4
Clears: Cortland 13-of-17, WNEU 9-of-18
Faceoffs Won: Cortland 16, WNEU 12
Penalties: Cortland 4-3:30, WNEU 4-3:00 
Extra-Man Offense: WNEU 3-4, Cortland 2-4 

Records after game: Cortland (Red Dragons) 3-0 (ranked 18th in Div. III); Western New England (Golden Bears) 0-3