CORTLAND, N.Y. – The nationally top-ranked RIT men's lacrosse team scored seven of the final nine goals to erase a one-goal deficit and defeated Cortland, 12-8, in non-conference action Saturday afternoon at the Stadium Complex. The Red Dragons dropped to 1-1, while the Tigers improved to 3-0.

Seniors Zak Jones (East Quogue/Westhampton Beach) and Brandon Stiles (Mastic/Eastport-South Manor) an sophomore Matthew Thrasher (Vestal) led Cortland with two goals each. Senior Steven Veteri (Mt. Vernon/Yorktown) and junior Dante Yacavone (Homer) netted one goal apiece, junior Pat Doyen (Miller Place) recorded two assists and senior Anthony LaRosa (East Meadow) and junior Troy Morris (Long Beach) chipped in with one assist.

Junior goalie Marc Esposito (West Babylon) registered 14 saves for the Red Dragons. Senior Brian Williams (Holtsville/Sachem East) won 9-of-15 faceoffs and collected eight ground balls, and sophomore Seth Thornton (Scarsdale) secured 4-of-8 faceoffs and scooped up three ground balls. Doyen and senior Jacob Rivers (Homer) each caused two turnovers and recorded three ground balls, while LaRosa added two caused turnovers.

Junior Ryan Rosenblum (Limerick, PA/Spring-Ford) paced RIT's offense with three goals. Senior Quinn Commandant (Rockwood, ON/The Kiski School) and junior Marley Angus (Oakville, ON/Holy Trinity) tallied two goals and one assist, senior Ryan Barnable (Whitby, ON/Donald A. Wilson) contributed one goal and two assists, junior Spencer Bell (Fairport) had one goal and one assist and three others each netted a goal.

Senior goalie Walker Hare (Libertyville, IL) turned aside 16 shots and collected three ground balls. Senior Nick Montemorano (Victor) won 10 faceoffs and secured eight ground balls. Senior Taylor Jensen (New Westminster, BC) caused two turnovers and collected three ground balls.

The Tigers grabbed a 3-1 lead after the opening quarter as three different players scored. Cortland pulled even at 3-3 late in the second quarter after Veteri scored at 4:09 in an unsettled situation and Thrasher netted his first goal of the game at 3:11. Barnable gave RIT a 4-3 advantage heading into the half with his goal at 15 seconds that barely beat the shot clock.

After Commandant scored a man-up goal 17 seconds into the third quarter, Cortland used a three-goal run to take its first lead of the game at 6-5. Stiles scored at 10:20, Thrasher netted his second goal at 8:03 and Jones scored at 6:11. The Tigers took the momentum by ending the quarter with four straight goals for a 9-6 lead.

Rosenblum's third goal of the game made it a10-6 score, but the Red Dragons responded with a goal from Yacavone at 9:10 and a man-up goal from Stiles at 8:36 to pull to within 10-8. The critical swing in the game came minutes later when Commandant tallied a man-down goal at 6:48 to make it an 11-8 score. Shoemay completed the scoring with an empty-net goal at the 1:32 mark, while Cortland doubled the ball, for the 12-8 final.

RIT 12, Cortland 8

GAME SUMMARY:

Team                1-2-3-4  Final
RIT                    3-1-5-3    12
Cortland            1-2-3-2      8

Scoring (Goals-Assists):
RIT:  Ryan Rosenblum 3-0, Quinn Commandant 2-1, Marley Angus 2-1, Ryan Barnable 1-2, Spencer Bell 1-1, Patrick Shoemay 1-0, Nick Montemorano 1-0, Pent Eistrat 1-0, Larson Sundown 0-1, Taylor Jensen 0-1, Brett Naylor 0-1
Cortland: Zak Jones 2-0, Brandon Stiles 2-0, Matthew Thrasher 2-0, Dante Yacavone 1-0, Steven Veteri 1-0, Pat Doyen 0-1, Troy Morris 0-1, Anthony LaRosa 0-1

Goalkeepers:
RIT: Walker Hare, 16 saves (8 GA in 60:00)
Cortland: Marc Esposito, 14 saves (12 GA in 60:00)

Shots: RIT 45, Cortland 37
Ground Balls: RIT 36, Cortland 31
Turnovers: Cortland 25, RIT 21
Caused Turnovers: Cortland 10, RIT 10
Clears: RIT 25-of-29, Cortland 19-of-24
Faceoffs Won: Cortland 13, RIT 10
Penalties: RIT 5-4:30, Cortland 1-1:00
Extra-Man Offense: Cortland 2-5, RIT 1-1

Records after game: Cortland (Red Dragons) 1-1; RIT (Tigers) 3-0 (ranked 1st in Div. III)