COLLEGEVILLE, PA. – The nationally 18th-ranked Ursinus men's lacrosse team outscored 17th-ranked Cortland, 9-4, in the second half to pull away from a tight game at intermission in earning a 15-9 victory Wednesday afternoon. The Bears improved to 3-0 with the win, while the Red Dragons opened their season with the road setback.
Senior
Terrence Haggerty (Centerport/Harborfields) paced Cortland's offense with three goals and one assist. Junior
Danny Caroussos (Smithtown/Smithtown West) netted two goals, senior
Dean Riley (Homer) recorded one goal and one assist and sophomore
Jonathan Ecker (Ontario/Wayne) tallied one goal and one assist. Senior
Joey Panariello (Islip) and junior
Brandon Croteau (Bayport/Bayport-Blue Point) each added a goal, and senior
Mike McNaney (Marcellus) and junior
Corey McMahon (Lindenhurst/St. John the Baptist) chipped in with one assist apiece.
Junior
Brian Williams (Holtsville/Sachem East) and sophomore
Kevin Tiedemann (Comsewogue) each won five faceoffs for the Red Dragons with Williams collecting a team-high four ground balls. Junior
Matt Cavanaugh (Clifton Park/Shenendehowa) and freshman
Troy Morris (Long Beach) caused two turnovers, while Caroussos and freshman
Dominick Natale (Homer) finished with three ground balls. Junior goalie
Jake Craybas (Bethel, CT) made nine saves.
Bobby McClure and Peter DeSimone each scored five goals to lead the Ursinus offense. Hakan Atillasoy tallied two goals and an assist, while Tim Carroll, Evan Scott and Sam Mutz added goals.
Brian Casey won 7-of-11 faceoffs, and Aiden Baltz was successful on 10-of-17 faceoff attempts, scooped up six ground balls and added an assist for the Bears. Nolan Sachs caused two turnovers, and goalie Nick Kirk registered 10 saves.
Ursinus opened up a 4-2 lead after the first quarter as DeSimone scored twice for the Bears. After Atillasoy put Ursinus ahead, 5-2, with an early goal in the second quarter, Haggerty, Riley and Croteau scored in less than a four-minute span to tie the game at 5-5 with 3:36 left in the first half. McClure, however, gave the Bears a 6-5 lead entering intermission with his first goal of the game 53 seconds after Croteau's score.
The Bears took control of the game by stringing together the first six goals of the second half, three off the stick of McClure, to build a 12-5 advantage at the 3:40 mark. Panariello's goal ended the run and sent the game to the fourth quarter with Ursinus ahead, 12-6. McClure and DeSimone netted back-to-back goals to open the final 15 minutes of play to push the lead to 14-6 with 9:33 remaining. Haggerty's third goal of the game at 8:29 cut the deficit to 14-7, but Cortland did not score again until the 1:39 mark on Ecker's goal. DeSimone and Caroussos traded late goals for the 15-9 final.
The Red Dragons open their home schedule when they host fifth-ranked Tufts on Sunday, Mar. 3, at 1 p.m.
Ursinus 15, Cortland 9
GAME SUMMARY:
Team 1-2-3-4 Final
Cortland 2-3-1-3 9
Ursinus 4-2-6-3 15
Scoring (Goals-Assists):
Cortland:
Terrence Haggerty 3-1,
Danny Caroussos 2-0,
Dean Riley 1-2,
Jonathan Ecker 1-1,
Joey Panariello 1-0,
Brandon Croteau 1-0,
Corey McMahon 0-1,
Mike McNaney 0-1
Ursinus: Bobby McClure 5-0, Peter DeSimone 5-0, Hakan Atillasoy 2-1, Tim Carroll 1-0, Evan Scott 1-0, Sam Mutz 1-0, Aiden Baltz 0-1
Goalkeepers:
Cortland:
Jake Craybas, 9 saves (15 GA in 60:00)
Ursinus: Nick KIrk, 10 saves (9 GA in 60:00)
Shots: Ursinus 49, Cortland 36
Ground Balls: Ursinus 35, Cortland 27
Turnovers: Ursinus 20, Cortland 18
Caused Turnovers: Cortland 10, Ursinus 5
Clears: Ursinus 15-of-20, Cortland 13-of-21
Faceoffs Won: Ursinus 17, Cortland 11
Penalties: Ursinus 4-2:00, Cortland 2-1:30
Extra-Man Offense: Cortland 0-4, Ursinus 0-2
Records after the game: Cortland (Red Dragons) 0-1 (ranked 17th nationally in Div. III), Ursinus (Bears) 3-0 (ranked 18th nationally in Div. III)
