CORTLAND, N.Y. – The nationally fourth-ranked Cortland men's lacrosse team opened up a 10-0 lead at the half and went onto a 16-4 victory versus Geneseo Wednesday afternoon in the SUNYAC Semifinals at the Stadium Complex. The Red Dragons improved to 15-1 on the season and will host Plattsburgh, which defeated Brockport, 8-7, in the championship game, Saturday at 1 p.m. The Knights fell to 9-6 with the loss.

Sophomore Dean Riley (Homer) recorded a career-high six points on a career-best four goals and two assists to lead the Cortland offense. Junior Nate Beresovoy (LaFayette) also netted four goals. Junior Devin Phelps (Chittenango) tallied six points on two goals and four assists, and junior Thomas McNaney (Marcellus) contributed two goals and three assists.

Senior T.J. deLyra (Brightwaters/Bay Shore) had one goal and one assist, junior Tyler Brown (Camillus/West Genesee) and freshman Danny Caroussos (Smithtown/Smithtown West) each netted a goal, freshman Michael Dignan (North Kingstown, RI/La Salle Academy) scored his first career goal and sophomore Joey Panariello (Islip) chipped in with an assist for the Red Dragons.

Junior goalie Joe Scalise (Fairport) stopped seven shots and allowed just one goal through three quarters.Freshman Jake Craybas (Bethel, CT) made two saves in the fourth quarter for Cortland. Senior Mike Hart (Cornelius, NC/Hough) won 14-of-14 faceoffs and secured nine ground balls as Cortland won 19-of-23 faceoffs in the game. Phelps added six ground balls, and deLyra and junior Trevor Pratt (Denver, CO/Colorado Academy) each caused two turnovers.

Junior Ryan Kelly (Mendon/Honeoye Falls-Lima) led Geneseo with one goal and one assist. Senior Dane Bentley (Buffalo/Amherst), junior Alex Leuze (Jamesville/Fayetteville-Manlius) and sophomore Zachary DeBottis (Cicero/Cicero-North Syracuse) each scored a goal, and sophomore Jack Ladd (Saratoga Springs/CBA) added an assist.

Junior goalie Michael Yehl (Churchville/Churchville-Chili) registered 14 saves in 45:00, and freshman Tyler Wetzel (Fairport) made five saves in 15:00. Junior Ryan Cates (Centerport/Harborfields) collected five ground balls, and sophomore Jack Crowley (Greenlawn/Harborfields) scooped up four ground balls. and caused two turnovers.

Cortland took a 5-0 lead after the first quarter as Beresovoy scored three times. The lead grew to 10-0 at intermission with Riley notching three goals. After Leuze put the Knights on the scoreboard at 11:51 of the third quarter, the Red Dragons ended the quarter with six consecutive goals from six different players to take a 16-1 lead into the final 15 minutes. In the fourth quarter, Geneseo netted the only three goals for the 16-4 final. 
 
Cortland 16, Geneseo 4

GAME SUMMARY:

Team                       1-2-3-4  Final
Geneseo                  0-0-1-3       4
Cortland                   5-5-6-0      16

Scoring (Goals-Assists):
Geneseo: Ryan Kelly 1-1, Zachary DeBottis 1-0, Alex Leuze 1-0, Dane Bentley 1-0, Jack Ladd 0-1
Cortland: Dean Riley 4-2, Nate Beresovoy 4-0, Devin Phelps 2-4, Thomas McNaney 2-3, T.J. deLyra 1-1, Danny Caroussos 1-0, Tyler Brown 1-0, Michael Dignan 1-0, Joey Panariello 0-1

Goalkeepers:
Geneseo: Michael Yehl, 14 saves (16 GA in 45:00), Tyler Wetzel, 5 saves (0 GA in 15:00)
Cortland: Joe Scalise, 7 saves (1 GA in 45:00), Jake Craybas, 2 saves (3 GA in 15:00)

Shots: Cortland 56, Geneseo 28
Ground Balls: Cortland 57, Geneseo 23 
Turnovers: Geneseo 22, Cortland 17
Caused Turnovers: Cortland 11, Geneseo 6
Clears: Cortland 16-of-20, Geneseo 15-of-27
Faceoffs Won: Cortland 19, Geneseo 4
Penalties: Cortland 5-3:30, Geneseo 4-3:30 
Extra-Man Offense: Geneseo 1-5, Cortland 0-3 

Records after game: Cortland (Red Dragons) 15-1 (ranked 4th in Div. III); Geneseo (Knights) 9-6