CORTLAND, N.Y. – The nationally 20th-ranked Cortland men's lacrosse team outscored Clarkson, 4-1, in the fourth quarter to earn a come-from-behind 11-9 victory Tuesday afternoon in non-conference action at the Stadium Complex. The Red Dragons improved to 2-1 with the win, while the Golden Knights dropped to 2-3.

Senior Zak Jones (East Quogue/Westhampton Beach) tallied a career-best five points on a career-high four goals and one assist to lead the Cortland offense. Senior Brandon Stiles (Mastic/Eastport-South Manor) and junior Dante Yacavone (Homer) each contributed one goal and one assist, and seniors Steven Veteri (Mt. Vernon/Yorktown) and Jacob Rivers (Homer), juniors Troy Morris (Long Beach) and Pat Doyen (Miller Place) and sophomore Luke Kilner (Highland Falls/James I. O'Neill) netted one goal apiece.

Junior goalie Marc Esposito (West Babylon) matched his career high with 16 saves for Cortland, including seven in the decisive fourth quarter. Senior Brian Williams (Holtsville/Sachem East) secured 10-of-18 faceoffs and collected six ground balls, Morris caused two turnovers and Doyen and junior Kyle Boden (Wading River/Shoreham-Wading River) each scooped up four ground balls.

Junior Bryan Penney (Wakefield, MA/St. Johns Prep) scored four goals for Clarkson. Sophomore Sebastian Geiger (Troy/LaSalle Institute) finished with a team-high five points on three goals and two assists. Graduate student Pierce Currie (Webster/Webster Thomas) and senior Jay Considine (Syracuse/West Genesee) netted one goal apiece, and graduate student Conor Bartlett (Syracuse/West Genesee) chipped in with two assists.

Senior goalie Kevin Dyckman (Cortlandt Manor/Walter Panas) registered 13 saves in 58:48. Junior goalie Matt Yonko (Webster/Webster Thomas) did not face a shot in 1:12. Sophomore Matthew Hansen (Warwick/Warwick Valley) won 10-of-18 faceoffs. Junior Max Hoffer (Cambridge) collected six ground balls, while freshman Matt Szwagulinksi (Montville, NJ) secured five ground balls and junior Connor Borchardt (Binghamton/Chenango Forks) contributed three ground balls and two caused turnovers.

Clarkson led 2-0 after the first quarter and 3-0 early in the second quarter before Morris, Doyen and Veteri each scored to tie the game at 3-3 just before the midway point of the quarter. Penney made it a 4-3 score, and Stiles sent the game into halftime at 4-4 with his goal 35 seconds before the break

The teams traded the first four goals of the third quarter until back-to-back goals by Currie and Penney gave the Golden Knights an 8-6 lead at the 3:09 mark. Jones scored a man-up goal at 1:17 to pull the Red Dragons to within 8-7 heading into the final 15 minutes of play.

Kilner and Jones netted goals just 36 seconds apart early in the fourth quarter to give Cortland its first lead of the game, 9-8. Penney's man-up goal tied the score at the 11:05 mark, but Rivers scored what proved to be the game-winner on an end-to-end rush at 7:29 and Jones netted an insurance goal at 1:31 for the 11-9 final.

Cortland 11, Clarkson 9

GAME SUMMARY:

Team                1-2-3-4  Final
Clarkson           2-2-4-1      9
Cortland            0-4-3-4     11

Scoring (Goals-Assists):
Clarkson: Bryan Penney 4-0, Sebastian Geiger 3-2, Jay Considine 10, Pierce Currie 1-0, Conor Bartlett 0-2
Cortland: Zak Jones 4-1, Dante Yacavone 1-1, Brandon Stiles 1-1, Troy Morris 1-0, Pat Doyen 1-0, Luke Kilner 1-0, Jacob Rivers 1-0, Anthony Marcuccilli 0-1, Matthew Thrasher 0-1

Goalkeepers:
Clarkson: Kevin Dyckman, 13 saves (11 GA in 58:48), Matt Yonko, 0 saves (0 GA in 1:12)
Cortland: Marc Esposito, 16 saves (9 GA in 60:00)

Shots: Clarkson 42, Cortland 37
Ground Balls: Cortland 38, Clarkson 30
Turnovers: Cortland 20, Clarkson 16
Caused Turnovers: Clarkson 9, Cortland 7
Clears: Cortland 20-22, Clarkson 20-25
Faceoffs Won: Clarkson 12, Cortland 11
Penalties: Cortland 6-4:00, Clarkson 4-3:30
Extra-Man Offense: Clarkson 2-6, Cortland 1-3

Records after game: Cortland (Red Dragons) 2-1; Clarkson (Golden Knights) 2-3