YORK, PA - The nationally 13th-ranked Cortland men's lacrosse team scored the first six goals of the game, and rolled to a 23-8 victory over Illinois Wesleyan in the second round of the NCAA Division III Tournament on Saturday evening on York (PA) University's Kinsley Field. 

Cortland scored the second-most goals in an NCAA game in program history, behind only a 24-goal outburst in the first round 2021 in a 24-6 win over UMass Boston. The Red Dragons  improve to 18-2 on the year and advance to face host York in the third round on Sunday at 7 p.m. Illinois Wesleyan ends the season with a 14-3 record. 

Sean Kavanagh (North Canton, OH/Hoover) led Cortland win eight points on three goals and five assists, while Ryan Scanlon (Cornelius, NC/William Amos Hough) chipped in three goals and an assist and Sam Rothman (Dix Hills/Half Hollow Hills East) had two goals and two assists. 

Frank Neeson (Orchard Park) and Kole Stuver (Fairport) each netted three goals for the Red Dragons, and Liam Burns (Warners/West Genesee) had two goals. 

Travis Wagner (Penfield) stopped 11 shots in goal. Joe DeLany (Camilus/West Genesee) and Alex Thrasher (Vestal) each registered two caused turnovers and four ground balls. Nicky Miltenberger (Ridge/Longwood) won 9-of-14 faceoffs, and scooped up eight ground balls. 

Colin Tervo stopped 23 shots in goal for Illinois Wesleyan, and Gage Black and Bob Boone scored two goals apiece for the Titans. 

AJ Surian (Bay Shore) netted the first goal of the game for Cortland just over three minutes into the game, has second goal of the season. The Red Dragons continued to build momentum, as goals by Neeson and Scanlon made it 3-0 at the midway point of the frame.

After an Illinois Wesleyan penalty, Stefan Swedlund (Randolph, NJ) netted a man-up goal, and Kole Stuver scored with 3:29 remaining to give Cortland a 5-0 lead after one period of play. 

Kavanagh sent a feed to Scanlon just 1:08 into the second quarter, as Cortland led by six. Just as it felt like the Red Dragons were about to pull awat, the Titans immediately responded with three straight goals to reduce the Cortland lead to 6-3 with 10:24 left in the half. 

Neither team scored over the next five minutes of game action, before Cortland closed the half with three goals in less than a two-minute span, with Rothman, Kole Stuver, and Kavanagh each scoring.

Cortland opened the second half on a 5-0 run, with Rothman, Klay Stuver (Fairport), and Kole Stuver scoring, as well as two goals in a row from Neeson, to lead 14-3 with 7:43 left in the frame. 

Over the final five minutes of the quarter, Cortland and Illinois Wesleyan each scored twice, with Kavanagh and Nick Stoecker (East Setauket/Ward Melville) each scoring for the Red Dragons. 

Scanlon and Kavanagh each completed their hat tricks in the first three minutes of the fourth quarter, and the Titans were able to net three goals to close the deficit down to 18-8 with just over eight minutes remaining. 

From that point, Cortland scored the final five goals to secure the victory. Burns netted a pair of goals, and Eli Volk (Alamo, CA/San Ramon Valley), Connor Cosgrove (Warwick/Don Bosco Prep), and Caden Morra (Farmingdale/Plainedge) each finding the back of the net.