POTSDAM, N.Y. – The Cortland men's lacrosse team held Potsdam to one second-half goal and pulled away from a tight game to earn a 12-4 victory on the road in SUNYAC action Saturday afternoon. The Red Dragons improved to 4-6 overall and 2-0 in the conference, while the Bears dropped to 3-4 and 0-1.

Senior Chris Dovi (Cortland) led Cortland with four goals, his first as a Red Dragon. Senior Dante Yacavone (Homer) tallied two goals and an assist, and graduate student Zak Jones (East Quogoe/Westhampton Beach) also netted two goals. Senior Pat Doyen (Miller Place) chipped in with a goal and two assists, and graduate student Brandon Stiles (Mastic/Eastport-South Manor) and freshmen Caden Yancey (Fayetteville/Fayetteville-Manlius) and Ryan Scanlon (Cornelius, NC/William Amos Hough) each added a goal.

Sophomore Travis Wagner (Penfield) started in goal for the Red Dragons, making 13 saves in 57:45. Junior Matt Stento (Bethlehem) did not face a shot on goal over the final 2:15. Junior Jake DiBenedetto (Lynbrook) won 7-of-11 faceoffs. Graduate student Jacob Rivers (Homer) secured six ground balls and caused two turnovers. Doyen and senior Dominick Natale (Homer) collected four ground balls apiece.

Owen Walsh scored twice for Potsdam. Cobie Cree and Ayden LaFave each netted a goal and Ethan Clark picked up an assist.

Goalie Liam O'Neil registered 20 saves for the Bears. Blaze Benedict scooped up five ground balls and caused two turnovers, Trent Woodrow contributed three ground balls and two caused turnovers and Peyton Walsh collected three ground balls.

Jones and Scanlon gave Cortland an early 2-0 lead before goals from Walsh and Yacavone made it a 3-1 score at the end of the first quarter. Goals from Jones and Yancey put the Red Dragons up, 5-1, at the 6:20 mark of the second quarter, but LaFave and Cree answered with goals less than two minutes apart to pull Potsdam to within 5-3. Doyen closed the first half with his 13th goal of the season at 1:12 and Cortland took a 6-3 advantage into intermission.

Dovi then took over for Cortland, scoring four of the Red Dragons' six goals in the second half. He netted the two lone goals of the third quarter to make it an 8-3 game. Walsh tallied the Bears' lone goal of the second half to open the fourth quarter, but Cortland ran together four goals, two from Dovi and one each by Yacavone and Stiles, for the 12-4 final.

Cortland 12, Potsdam 4

GAME SUMMARY:

Team                          1-2-3-4  Final
Cortland                      3-3-2-4      12
Potsdam                     1-2-0-1        4

Scoring (Goals-Assists):
Cortland: Chris Dovi 4-0, Dante Yacavone 2-1, Zak Jones 2-0, Pat Doyen 1-2, Caden Yancey 1-0, Ryan Scanlon 1-0, Brandon Stiles 1-0, Colton Smith 0-1, Justin Wainwright 0-1, Tyler Starrett 0-1, Jason Chiodo 0-1
Potsdam: Owen Walsh 2-0, Cobie Cree 1-0, Ayden LaFave 1-0, Ethan Clark 0-1

Goalkeepers:
Cortland: Travis Wagner, 13 saves (4 GA in 57:45), Matt Stento, 0 saves (0 GA in 2:15)
Potsdam: Liam O'Neil, 20 saves (12 GA in 60:00)

Shots: Cortland 48, Potsdam 37
Ground Balls: Cortland 41, Potsdam 29
Turnovers: Potsdam 23, Cortland 18
Caused Turnovers: Cortland 8, Potsdam 8
Clears: Cortland 24-of-28, Potsdam 17-of-24
Faceoffs Won: Cortland 12, Potsdam 8
Penalties: Potsdam 3-2:00, Cortland 2-1:30
Extra-Man Offense: Cortland 1-3, Potsdam 0-2

Records after game: Cortland (Red Dragons) 4-6, 2-0 SUNYAC; Potsdam (Bears) 3-4, 0-1 SUNYAC