CORTLAND, N.Y. – Ten different players scored goals as the Cortland men's lacrosse team defeated Brockport, 15-7, Saturday afternoon in SUNYAC action at the Stadium Complex. The Red Dragons improved to 11-4 overall and 5-0 in the conference, clinching the regular-season title with one league game remaining. The Golden Eagles fell to 5-7 and 0-4.
Junior
Corey McMahon (Lindenhurst/St. John the Baptist) led Cortland with three goals and one assist. Senior
Dean Riley (Homer) tallied two goals and two assists, freshman
Dante Yacavone (Homer) recorded two goals and one assist and sophomore
Brandon Stiles (Mastic/Eastport-South Manor) netted a pair of goals.
Senior
Joey Panariello (Islip) had one goal and one assist, while seniors
Alex Waelder (Syracuse/Corcoran) and
Mike McNaney (Marcellus), junior
Michael Dignan (North Kingstown, RL/La Salle Academy), sophomore
Mike Nicholson (North Babylon/St. Anthony's) and freshman
Troy Morris (Long Beach) each scored a goal for the Red Dragons.
Freshman
Marc Esposito (West Babylon) started in goal for Cortland, matching his career high with 14 saves and securing four ground balls in 45:55. Junior
Jon Vargas (West Islip) stopped five shots in 11:24, and freshman
J.J. Johnson (Baldwinsville/C.W. Baker) made one save over the final 2:41. Junior
Brian Williams (Holtsville/Sachem East) won 11-of-15 faceoffs and scooped up a game-high 10 ground balls. Sophomore
Brandon Croteau (Bayport-Bayport-Blue Point) secured four ground balls.
Sophomore Brendan Halleran (Stuart, FL/Martin County) scored twice for Brockport. Seniors Billy Coppola (Orchard Park/Bishop Timon St. Jude), Nick Daigle (Warwick) and Jacob Recor (Lancaster) and freshmen Jack Peterson (Horseheads) and Owen Van Wie (Spencerport) each netted one goal. Junior Corey Choberka (Vestal) recorded three assists, and sophomore Patrick Sheridan (Rochester/Churchville-Chili) chipped in with two assists.
Freshman goalie John Felice (Port Jefferson Station/Comsewogue) registered 11 saves and four ground balls.Sophomore Dallas Whitney (Vestal) caused three turnovers. Coppola, Peterson and freshman Aidan Fitzgerald (Uniondale/Kellenberg Memorial) secured four ground balls apiece.
Cortland led, 2-0, on late goals from McMahon and Dignan after a sloppily played first quarter. The Red Dragons quickly pushed their lead to 4-0 with goals from Stiles and Riley at 13:52 and 13:33, respectively, to open the second quarter. After Halleran put the Golden Eagles on the scoreboard at 12:28, Cortland closed the half with four straight goals from four different players for an 8-1 lead.
The Red Dragons took control of the game with a four-goal run to start the second half as Yacavone scored twice and McMahon and Riley each netted a goal. Daigle's goal at 8:31 of the third quarter ended Cortland's eight-goal streak, but Waelder made it a 13-2 score entering the fourth quarter with his goal at the 53-second mark. The team's split the first four goals of the fourth quarter, making it a 15-4 score with 5:04 remaining before Brockport closed out the game with three goals for the 15-7 final.
Cortland's seven seniors were honored before the game and players from the 2006 and 2009 NCAA Div. III championship teams were recognized on the field at halftime.
Cortland 15, Brockport 7
GAME SUMMARY:
Team 1-2-3-4 Final
Brockport 0-1-1-5 7
Cortland 2-6-5-2 15
Scoring (Goals-Assists):
Brockport: Brendan Halleran 2-0, Billy Coppola 1-0, Jack Peterson 1-0, Nick Daigle 1-0, Owen Van Wie 1-0, Jacob Recor 0-1, Corey Choberka 0-3, Patrick Sheridan 0-2
Cortland:
Corey McMahon 3-1,
Dean Riley 2-2,
Dante Yacavone 2-1,
Brandon Stiles 2-0,
Joey Panariello 1-2,
Troy Morris 1-0,
Alex Waelder 1-0,
Mike McNaney 1-0,
Mike Nicholson 1-0,
Michael Dignan 1-0
Goalkeepers:
Brockport: John Felice, 11 saves (15 GA in 60:00)
Cortland:
Marc Esposito, 14 saves (2 GA in 45:55),
Jon Vargas, 5 saves (4 GA in 11:24),
J.J. Johnson, 1 save (1 GA in 2:41)
Shots: Brockport 50, Cortland 44
Ground Balls: Cortland 40, Brockport 34
Turnovers: Cortland 22, Brockport 15
Caused Turnovers: Brockport 10, Cortland 8
Clears: Brockport 24-of-26, Cortland 21-of-29
Faceoffs Won: Cortland 15, Brockport 8
Penalties: Brockport 5-4:00, Cortland 4-4:00
Extra-Man Offense: Cortland 1-4, Brockport 1-4
Records after game: Cortland (Red Dragons) 11-4, 5-0 SUNYAC; Brockport (Golden Eagles) 5-7, 0-4 SUNYAC
