COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO. – The Cortland men's lacrosse team broke an early fourth-quarter tie by scoring four of the last five goals in the game to earn a 12-9 victory against Illinois Wesleyan at Colorado College Wednesday in non-conference play. The Red Dragons upped their record to 3-1, while the Titans dropped to 2-3.

Sam Rothman (Dix Hills/Half Hollow Hills East) tied career highs with six points and five goals to lead the Cortland offense. Nick Stoecker (East Setauket/Ward Melville) totaled a career-best five points on two goals and three assists. Caden Yancey (Fayetteville/Fayetteville-Manlius) tallied a goal and two assists, Josh Michel (Manlius/Fayetteville-Manlius) and Klay Stuver (Fairport) recorded a goal and an assist, Alex Thrasher (Vestal) and Matt Franzoni (Brielle, NJ/Manasquan) each netted a goal and Ryan Scanlon (Cornelius, NC/William Amos Hough) contributed an assist.

Goalie Travis Wagner (Penfield) registered a career-high 21 saves for the Red Dragons. Travis Moehringer (Stony Brook/Ward Melville) scooped up six ground balls. Christian Lembo (Farmingdale) collected three ground balls, Logan Schanars (Melville/Half Hollow Hills East) chipped in with two ground balls and two caused turnovers and Rothman recorded two caused turnovers.

Gage Black paced the Illinois Wesleyan offense with four goals. Tristan Seeley tallied two goals and an assist, Timothy McHugh recorded a goal and three assists and Ethan Hart and Saw Weinberg each netted a goal.

Goalie Colin Tervo made 15 saves for the Titans. Zo Lombardo won 18-of-23 faceoffs and registered 10 ground balls. Sam Skelton caused three turnovers, and Black secured four ground balls. 

The game featured a series of goal runs by each team. Cortland held a 2-1 lead after the first quarter before the Titans tied the game 55 seconds into the second quarter. The Red Dragons followed with three straight goals from three different players to build a 5-2 lead at the half.

Cortland increased its goal run to five straight with two early goals to start the third quarter for a 7-2 advantage. Illinois Wesleyan answered with five consecutive scores to pull even at 7-7 late in the quarter. Rothman's third goal of the game with just 20 seconds on the clock sent the Red Dragons into the final 15 minutes with an 8-7 lead.

Weinberg tied the game with a man-up goal, but Rothman netted back-to-back goals and Stuver scored to put Cortland ahead, 11-8, just before the midway point of the fourth quarter. Seeley cut the Red Dragon lead to 11-9 at 7:55, but Stoecker completed the scoring at 7:15 for the 12-9 final.

Cortland 12, Illinois Wesleyan 9
 
GAME SUMMARY:

Team                    1-2-3-4  Final
Cortland                2-3-3-4     12
Illinois Wesleyan   1-1-5-2       9

Scoring (Goals-Assists):
Cortland: Sam Rothman 5-1, Nick Stoecker 2-3, Caden Yancey 1-2, Josh Michel 1-1, Klay Stuver 1-1, Alex Thrasher 1-0, Matt Franzoni 1-0, Ryan Scanlon 0-1
Illinois Wesleyan: Gage Black 4-0, Tristan Seeley 2-1, Timothy McHugh 1-3, Ethan Hart 1-0, Sam Weinberg 1-0, John Kittoe 0-1

Goalkeepers:
Cortland: Travis Wagner, 21 saves (9 GA in 60:00)
Illinois Wesleyan: Colin Tervo, 15 saves (12 GA in 60:00)

Shots: Illinois Wesleyan 56, Cortland 44
Ground Balls: Illinois Wesleyan 34, Cortland 27
Turnovers: Illinois Wesleyan 31, Cortland 18
Caused Turnovers: Cortland 9, Illinois Wesleyan 6
Clears: Cortland 23-of-26, Illinois Wesleyan 19-of-22
Faceoffs Won: Illinois Wesleyan 19, Cortland 5
Penalties: Cortland 8-6:30, Illinois Wesleyan 1-0:30
Extra-Man Offense: Illinois Wesleyan 4-8, Cortland 0-1

Records after game: Cortland (Red Dragons) 3-1, Illinois Wesleyan (Titans) 2-3