CORTLAND, NY – The top-seeded Cortland men's lacrosse team set the single-game program record for goals in a 36-3 home victory over fourth-seeded Plattsburgh in the semifinals of the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) tournament on Wednesday afternoon on Grady Field. The Red Dragons improve to 13-5 with their ninth straight win, while Plattsburgh finishes the season at 9-6.
Cortland's 36 goals surpassed the previous program record of 35 goals, set in a victory over Oneonta in 1983. The Red Dragons also shattered the previous conference tournament record of 25 goals in a game, and the 25 goals scored in the first half were the most in a half in tournament history.
Cortland advances to the conference championship game on Saturday, where the Red Dragons will host second-seeded Oneonta, which escaped with a 13-12 overtime victory over third-seeded Potsdam in the other semifinal, in a rematch of last year's championship game at 1 p.m.
Nick Stoecker (East Setauket/Ward Melville) finished with a career-high nine points on six goals and three assists, while
Drew Williamee (Canandaigua/Canandaigua Academy) added a career-high seven points on five goals and two assists.
Mason Carroll (Clifton Park/Shenendehowa) recorded four goals and an assist, while
Stefan Swedlund (Randolph, NJ) recorded three goals and two assists.
Nicky Miltenberger (Ridge/Longwood) was 15-of-15 on faceoffs with 11 ground balls, and contributed two goals and an assist, while
Chad Bowen (Yorktown) was 15-of-16 on faceoffs with four ground balls. Cortland won 37-of-43 faceoffs as a team for an .860 winning percentage.
Jamie Gipe, Peter Urso, and Steven Fenner each tallied a goal for Plattsburgh, while Kevin Murray had three caused turnovers and five ground balls for the Cardinals.
Stoecker scored five of his goals in the first quarter to help the Red Dragons build an 11-1 advantage after one period. Carroll added a pair of goals, and
James Devine (Haverstraw/North Rockland),
Caden Morra (Farmingdale/Plainedge),
Sean Kavanagh (North Canton, OH/Hoover), and Williamee also tallied a goal each in the frame, while Fenner had Plattsburgh's lone tally.
Gipe opened the second period with a goal for Plattsburgh, but Cortland quickly shut down any thoughts of a comeback by shutting down the Cardinals on offense for the rest of the half and adding 14 goals to extend the lead to 25-2 into the intermission.
Williamee scored three times in the quarter, and Carroll, Miltenberger, and
Eli Volk (Alamo, CA/San Ramon Valley) added a pair of goals each during the period. Miltenberger's goals came on consecutive possessions in the final 20 seconds of the half, winning the faceoff, scooping up the ground ball, sprinting to goal, and firing a pair of shots past the Plattsburgh goalkeeper. The Red Dragons also received scoring in the frame via a goal each from Stoecker, Swedlund,
Patrick O'Doherty (Lynbrook),
AJ Surian (Bay Shore), and
James Violi (East Islip).
Swedlund netted his second goal of the game with just 1:34 gone in the third period, but Plattsburgh got its final goal of the contest from Urso just over a minute later. Cortland continued to add to its lead with goals by Swedlund,
Sean Olvany (Canandaigua/Canandaigua Academy), Williamee, and
Michael Restino (Allentown, PA/Allentown Central Catholic) for a 30-3 lead heading into the final period.
Six different players scored a goal in the fourth quarter in helping Cortland reach its most goals in a game.
Colton Hornquist (Eden) scored the first goal of the period, followed by goals by
Carmen Orton (Rome/Rome Free Academy), Olvany,
Brayden Black (East Islip), and
Michael Rickard (Paramus, NJ) to give Cortland a 35-3 lead with 2:43 remaining.
The Red Dragons finished the scoring with 1:14 left on a goal by
Steven Baranoski (Floral Park/Floral Park Memorial) after forcing a turnover on a Plattsburgh clearance attempt.
Cortland's final two goalkeepers in the game,
Jack Lucidi (Orchard Park) and
Asher Harrison (Gansevoort/Schuylerville) combined to allow just one goal in the second half, with Lucidi making eight save and Harrison forcing two turnovers.
