CORTLAND, N.Y. – The nationally seventh-ranked RIT men's lacrosse team closed the game on a 6-0 fourth-quarter run to earn a 15-9 victory at fifth-ranked Cortland Wednesday night in non-conference action. The Tigers improved to 8-2 with the win, while Red Dragons dropped their first game of the season and fell to 8-1.

Senior Jimmy Nielsen (Miller Place) led Cortland with three goals. Freshman Danny Caroussos (Smithtown/Smithtown West) scored his first career points on two goals and one assist. Seniors Mike Hart (Cornelius, NC/Hough) and Andrew Gonzalez (Sayville) and sophomores Ethan Parks (Penfield) and Joey Panariello (Islip) each netted a goal. Junior Tyler Brown (Camillus/West Genesee) recorded two assists, and juniors Liam Rafferty (Long Beach) and Nate Beresovoy (LaFayette) chipped in with one assist. Beresvoy's assist gave him 100 career points on 61 goals and 39 assists.

Junior goalie Joe Scalise (Fairport) made 10 saves for the Red Dragons. Hart won nine faceoffs and scooped up seven ground balls. Senior Anthony Zangari (Lancaster, PA/Lancaster Catholic) and freshman Dylan DeLorme (Fairport) each secured three ground balls.

Senior Ryan Lee (Sharon, ON/The Hill Academy) paced nine RIT goal scorers with three goals and one assist. Senior Chad Levick (Newmarket, ON/Huron Heights) tallied two goals and two assists, senior Brendan MacDonald (Georgetown, ON/Trinity-Pawling) and sophomore Cam Isaac (Webster/Webster Thomas) each recorded two goals and one assist and senior Braden Wallace (Oakville, ON/Abbey Park) also notched two goals. Senior J.D. Hall (Centennial, CO/Arapahoe), juniors Kyle Killen (Peterborough, ON/Crestwood) and Jay Vakiener (Fairport) and freshman Jimmy Spillane (River Vale, NJ/Pascack Valley) netted one goal apiece, while junior Beau Riley (Homer) contributed four assists.

Senior goalie Nick Nesbitt (Burlington, ON/Salisbury School) turned aside 15 shots. Spillane won 15-of-26 faceoffs and secured six ground balls. Freshman Alex Maruna (Medina, OH/St. Ignatius) caused five turnovers and collected three ground balls, and Hall scooped up seven ground balls. 

RIT 15, Cortland 9

GAME SUMMARY:

Team                       1-2-3-4       Final
RIT                          3-2-4-6            15
Cortland                  2-3-1-3             9

Scoring (Goals-Assists):
RIT: Ryan Lee 3-1, Chad Levick 2-2, Brendan MacDonald 2-1, Cam Issac 2-1, Braden Wallace 2-0, J.D. Hall 1-0, Jimmy Spillane 1-0, Kyle Killen 1-0, Jay Vakiener 1-0, Beau Riley 0-4, Alec Sovocool 0-1, Ben Tackett 0-1
Cortland: Jimmy Nielsen 3-0, Danny Caroussos 2-1, Mike Hart 1-0, Ethan Parks 1-0, Andrew Gonzalez 1-0, Joey Panariello 1-0, Tyler Brown 0-2, Nate Beresovoy 0-1, Liam Rafferty 0-1

Goalkeepers:
RIT: Nick Nesbitt, 15 saves (9 GA in 60:00)
Cortland: Joe Scalise, 10 saves (15 GA in 60:00) 

Shots: Cortland 44, RIT 33
Ground Balls: Cortland 35, RIT 31 
Turnovers: Cortland 20, RIT 18
Caused Turnovers: RIT 10, Cortland 5
Clears: RIT 14-of-22, Cortland 12-of-18
Faceoffs Won: RIT 15, Cortland 11
Penalties: Cortland 5-8:00, RIT 2-2:00 
Extra-Man Offense: RIT 1-3, Cortland 1-2 

Records after game: Cortland (Red Dragons) 8-1 (ranked 5th in Div. III); RIT (Tigers) 8-2 (ranked 7th in Div. III)