CORTLAND, N.Y. – The nationally 20th-ranked Cortland men's soccer team opened up a 4-0 lead at the half and went on to a 6-1 victory versus Potsdam Wednesday night in SUNYAC play at Holloway Field. The Red Dragons improved to 8-1-1 overall and 2-0 in the conference. The Bears dropped to 3-4-1 and 0-3.

Senior Jack Coleman (Newark Valley/Maine-Endwell) paced the Cortland offense with a pair of goals in the opening half. Graduate student Riley Williams (Watertown/South Jefferson), senior Alex Lessman (Plainview/Plainview-Old Bethpage) and junior Matt Shultz (Oneonta) each added goals, and sophomore Josh Carroll (Port Jefferson Station/Comsewogue) tallied his first career goal. Senior Mateo Marra (Ossining) recorded three assists, while senior Marco Cottone (Syosset), junior Yasin Choukri (Wilton, CT) and freshman Gaetano Corrao (Thornwood/Iona Prep) each collected an assist.

Sophomore Jordan Ott (Fort Worth, TX/Southwest Christian) did not face a shot on goal in the first half for Cortland. Freshman Will Stanley (Virginia Beach, VA/Floyd E. Kellam) played 22:27 in his first carer action, and junior Jon Bovair (Canastota) stopped one shot over the final 22:33 in his first playing time as a Red Dragon.

Junior Zach Cunningham (Dix Hills/Half Hollow Hills East) scored Potsdam's goal with senior Austin Hutchins (Oriskany Falls/Waterville) picking up an assist. Sophomore goalie Ian Schwartz (Amsterdam/Broadalbin-Perth) made nine saves in the first 77:44 before giving way to freshman Sam Allen (Syracuse/Jamesville-DeWitt), who stopped two shots over the final 12:16.

Lessman gave Cortland the lead in the ninth minute with a 35-yard shot from the right side that eluded Schwartz and tucked under the crossbar. Coleman made it a 2-0 game when he one-timed a rebound off a cross in the 15th minute. Shultz then tallied his team-high ninth goal of the season when he beat Schwartz one-on-one after receiving a through ball from Marra in the 21st minute, and Coleman's second goal on a header off a Marra corner kick in the 30th minute sent the game to intermission at 4-0.

Cunningham wasted little time in putting the Bears on the scoreboard in the second half, scoring just 31 seconds in with a low shot from the left side of the box. Just under three minutes later, Williams picked up his sixth goal of the season, scoring on a header on another Marra corner-kick serve. Carroll completed the scoring in the 81st minute with a shot from the left side of the box for the 6-1 final.

Cortland 6, Potsdam 1

Scoring Summary (Goals-Assists):
Potsdam: Zach Cunningham 1-0, Austin Hutchins 0-1
Cortland: Jack Coleman 2-0, Alex Lessman 1-0, Matt Shultz 1-0, Riley Williams 1-0, Josh Carroll 1-0, Mateo Marra 0-3, Marco Cottone 0-1, Yasin Choukri 0-1, Gaetano Corrao 0-1

Halftime: Cortland 4, Potsdam 0
Shots: Cortland 32, Potsdam 6
Corner Kicks: Cortland 9, Potsdam 3
Fouls: Potsdam 12, Cortland 10
Saves: Ian Schwartz (Potsdam) 9 saves (5 GA in 77:44), Sam Allen (Potsdam) 2 saves (1 GA in 12:16); Jordan Ott (Cortland) 0 saves (0 GA in 45:00), Will Stanley (Cortland) 0 saves (1 GA in 22:27), Jon Bovair (Cortland) 1 save (0 GA in 22:33) 

Record after game: Potsdam (Bears) 3-4-1, 0-3 SUNYAC; Cortland (Red Dragons) 8-1-1, 2-0 SUNYAC (ranked 20th nationally in Div. III)