CORTLAND, N.Y. – The Cortland men's lacrosse team outscored Geneseo, 5-1, in the third quarter and held on for a dramatic 7-6 win Saturday afternoon in the championship game of the SUNYAC Men's Lacrosse Tournament. The Red Dragons stretched their winning streak to 10 games, improving to 13-6 on the season and earned an automatic berth in the NCAA Div. III playoffs. The Knights dropped to 9-8.

Senior Troy Morris (Long Beach) and junior Austin Palmer (Hamburg/St. Francis) each scored two goals for Cortland with Morris adding an assist. Sophomore Colton Smith (South Bristol/Penn Yan Academy) recorded a goal and an assist, senior Christopher Dovi (Cortland) and junior Tyler Starrett (Redding, CT/Joel Barlow) each netted a goal, and graduate student Brandon Stiles (Mastic/Eastport-South Manor) and freshman Caden Yancey (Fayetteville/Fayetteville-Manlius) collected one assist apiece.

Sophomore goalie Travis Wagner (Penfield) turned aside 11 shots and secured three ground balls for the Red Dragons. Freshman Owen Neubauer (Monroe/Monroe-Woodbury) won eight faceoffs. Graduate student Jacob Rivers (Homer) finished with five ground balls and three caused turnovers. Senior Dominick Natale (Homer), the tournament MVP, scooped up seven ground balls.

Senior Sean Byrne (Smithtown/Smithtown West) led Geneseo with three goals. Senior Kevin Cook (Northport) tallied a goal and two assists. Junior William McCumiskey (Oyster Bay/Chaminade) and sophomore Cole Bollin (Webster/Webster Schroeder) each scored a goal, and sophomore Kevin Mouton (Bethpage) added an assist.

Junior goalie Mark Pav (South Setauket/Ward Melville) made 13 saves. Senior Tommy Devito (Huntington/Harborfields) won 5-of-8 faceoffs. Senior Lucas Kollmer (Centerport/Harborfields) finished with a game-high eight ground balls, and junior Kevin Ehli (Smithtown/Smithtown West) secured four ground balls.

The teams were tied 1-1 after the first quarter, and the Knights held a 3-2 lead at the half. The Red Dragons built a 7-4 lead through the first 45 minutes when they outscored Geneseo, 5-1, in the third quarter as Morris netted both of his goals and Starrett, Palmer and Smith each scored.

Bollin's man-up goal at 7:42 of the fourth quarter made it a 7-5 game, and Byrne scored his third goal of the game shortly after a Cortland penalty expired to pull the Knights to within 7-6 at the 6:02 mark. The teams traded possessions in the closing minutes, leaving Geneseo with the ball and a chance to tie the game. After a failed clear by Cortland with under a minute remaining, Rivers caused a Geneseo turnover with 13 seconds on the clock. Wagner scooped up the loose ball and started a good clear that sealed the 7-6 victory.

Joining Natale on the all-tournament team were Morris, Smith, Palmer, Wagner and junior Jake Smeader (Hamburg) from Cortland; Byrne, Cook and Pav from Geneseo, Rocco Santillo from Brockport; and Matthew Krieg from Oneonta.

Cortland 7, Geneseo 6

GAME SUMMARY:

Team                 1-2-3-4  Final
Geneseo            1-2-1-2      6
Cortland             1-1-5-0     7

Scoring (Goals-Assists):
Geneseo: Sean Byrne 3-0, Kevin Cook 1-2, William McCumiskey 1-0, Cole Bollin 1-0, Kevin Mouton 0-1
Cortland: Troy Morris 2-1, Austin Palmer 2-0, Colton Smith 1-1, Tyler Starrett 1-0, Christopher Dovi 1-0, Brandon Stiles 0-1, Caden Yancey 0-1

Goalkeepers:
Geneseo: Mark Pav, 13 saves (7 GA in 60:00)
Cortland: Travis Wagner, 11 saves (6 GA in 60:00)

Shots: Cortland 37, Geneseo 34
Ground Balls: Geneseo 30, Cortland 25
Turnovers: Geneseo 19, Cortland 15
Caused Turnovers: Cortland 9, Geneseo 4
Clears: Geneseo 23-of-25, Cortland 19-of-24
Faceoffs Won: Geneseo 9, Cortland 8
Penalties: Cortland 5-4:00, Geneseo 3-1:30
Extra-Man Offense: Geneseo 2-5, Cortland 2-3

Records after game: Cortland (Red Dragons) 13-6, Geneseo (Knights) 9-8