CORTLAND, N.Y. – Junior
Terrence Haggerty (Centerport/Harborfields) scored five goals, including four in the second half, and added an assist to lead the Cortland men's lacrosse team to a 13-10 victory versus Oswego in the semifinals of the 2019 SUNYAC Men's Lacrosse Tournament Wednesday afternoon at the Stadium Complex.
The top-seeded Red Dragons improved to 13-4 with their seventh consecutive win and will host third-seeded Geneseo in the championship game Saturday at 1 p.m. The Knights defeated second-seeded Plattsburgh, 11-10, also on Wednesday. The fourth-seeded Lakers dropped to 8-6 with the loss.
Senior
Joey Panariello (Islip) was the only other Cortland player with multiple goals, finishing with two goals and one assist. Seniors
Dean Riley (Homer) and
Alex Waelder (Syracuse/Corcoran) and freshmen
Dante Yacavone (Homer) and
Troy Morris (Long Beach) each tallied one goal and one assist, and junior
Brian Williams (Holtsville/Sachem East) and sophomore
Brandon Stiles (Mastic/Eastport-South Manor) netted one goal apiece.
Freshman goalie
Marc Esposito (West Babylon) set a career high with 16 saves for the Red Dragons. Williams won 13 faceoffs, collected nine ground balls and caused two turnovers. Waelder added two caused turnovers, and freshman
Dominick Natale (Homer) secured five ground balls.
Junior Dan Doolan (Lake Grove/Sachem North) led Oswego with three goals. Junior Tim Schof (Montgomery/Pine Bush) tallied a team-high five points on two goals and three assists, while senior Bobby Emerson (Lake Grove/Centereach) and freshman Weston Gray (Philadelphia/Carthage) each scored twice and junior Kyle Bacon (Montgomery/Pine Bush) added one goal and two assists.
Sophomore goalie Kevin O'Donnell (Cleveland, OH/Saint Edward) turned aside 18 shots for the Lakers. Senior Kyle O'Connor (Dexter/General Brown) won 13 faceoffs and scooped up six ground balls.Senior Mark McElroy (Rockland/North Rockland) collected four ground balls and caused two turnovers.
The Lakers jumped out to a 4-0 lead late into the first quarter as Doolan and Schof each scored twice. Morris made it a 4-1 game entering the second quarter with his goal at the 2:14 mark. After Emerson put Oswego ahead 5-1 at 13:11, the Red Dragons ended the half with four consecutive goals from four different players to tie the game at 5-5.
Stiles gave Cortland its first lead of the game 36 seconds into the third quarter, but Doolan and Gray scored to put Oswego back on top, 7-6, at the 9:01 mark. The Red Dragons responded with three straight goals, two from Haggerty and one from Williams, to grab a 9-7 advantage after 45 minutes of play.
After Panariello pushed the lead to 10-7, goals from Gray and Bacon cut the Cortland lead to 10-9 with 6:55 to play. Haggerty then gave the Red Dragons a three-goal cushion with back-to-back goals before Emerson cut the Cortland lead to 12-10 with 3:29 on the clock. The Lakers won the ensuing faceoff, but Cortland forced a turnover and ran the shot clock down to zero after missing the cage four times.
Oswego worked a good clear, which led to a shot by Doolan that Esposito denied with 1:38 to play. The Red Dragons successfully cleared the ball, and Riley sealed the win with an empty net goal with 23.7 seconds remaining as Oswego doubled the ball in an attempt to gain possession.
Cortland 13, Oswego 10
GAME SUMMARY:
Team 1-2-3-4 Final
Oswego 4-1-2-3 10
Cortland 1-4-4-4 13
Scoring (Goals-Assists):
Oswego: Dan Doolan 3-0, Tim Schof 2-3, Weston Gray 2-0, Bobby Emerson 2-0, Kyle Bacon 1-2, Evan Hollfelder 0-1
Cortland:
Terrence Haggerty 5-1,
Joey Panariello 2-1,
Dante Yacavone 1-1,
Troy Morris 1-1,
Dean Riley 1-1,
Alex Waelder 1-1,
Brandon Stiles 1-0,
Brian Williams 1-0
Goalkeepers:
Oswego: Kevin O'Donnell, 18 saves (13 GA in 60:00)
Cortland:
Marc Esposito, 16 saves (10 GA in 60:00)
Shots: Cortland 58, Oswego 43
Ground Balls: Cortland 36, Oswego 33
Turnovers: Oswego 19, Cortland 16
Caused Turnovers: Oswego 9, Cortland 8
Clears: Cortland 22-of-27, Oswego 22-of-28
Faceoffs Won: Cortland 13, Oswego 13
Penalties: Oswego 2-1:30, Cortland 1-1:00
Extra-Man Offense: Cortland 0-2, Oswego 0-1
Records after game: Cortland (Red Dragons) 13-4; Oswego (Lakers) 8-6
