Cortland defeats St. Lawrence 20-10, advances to NCAA quarterfinals
CANTON, N.Y. – Junior attackmen Devin Phelps (Chittenango) and Thomas McNaney (Marcellus) combined for 18 points and junior goalie Joe Scalise (Fairport) turned aside 15 shots as the nationally eighth-ranked Cortland men's lacrosse team defeated fifth-ranked St. Lawrence, 20-10, Saturday afternoon in the third round of the 2017 NCAA Div. III Men's Lacrosse Tournament.
The Red Dragons improved to 17-2 on the season and advanced to face second-ranked RIT in the national quarterfinals on Wednesday. The Tigers defeated Stevenson, 17-8, on Saturday. The Saints ended their season at 16-3 with the setback.
Both Phelps and McNaney tallied a career-high nine points in the game. Phelps matched his career high with six goals and added two assists, while McNaney equaled his career best with five goals and recorded four assists. Junior Tyler Brown (Camillus/West Genesee) also registered a career best with three goals after setting a career high with three assists in Cortland's second-round victory versus Endicott.
Sophomore Dean Riley (Homer) contributed one goal and three assists, and juniors Nate Beresovoy (LaFayette) and Michael O'Connor (Ossining) and sophomore Joey Panariello (Islip) each tallied one goal and one assist for Cortland. Seniors T.J. deLyra (Brightwaters/Bay Shore) and Andrew Gonzalez (Sayville) netted one goal apiece, and senior defenders Dave Foster (Farmingville/Sachem East) and Anthony Zangari (Lancaster, PA) each chipped in with an assist.
Scalise's 15 saves were three shy of his career high and was the ninth game this season in which he has made double-digit stops. Senior Mike Hart (Cornelius, NC/Hough) won 17-of-27 faceoffs and collected seven ground balls. Junior Liam Rafferty (Long Beach) caused two turnovers and scooped up three ground balls, while Foster registered four ground balls.
Conor Healey led St. Lawrence with five points on three goals and two assists. Jon Fairbanks and Jamie DeNicola each tallied two goals and one assist, and Jordan Dow also netted two goals. Connor Brimley added a goal, and Alec Dietsch chipped in with an assist.
Goalie Alex Terry stopped five shots in 56:22. Matty Corbelle did not make a save in 2:48. Ryan Brigham won 13 faceoffs and secured four ground balls. Dietsch and Caleb Kane each caused three turnovers, and DeNicola scooped up five ground balls.
Cortland took a 4-1 lead after the first quarter with Brown scoring two of his goals. After McNaney gave the Red Dragons a 5-1 advantage early in the second quarter, the Saints cut their deficit to 5-4 with a three-goal burst in a span of 3:10. Cortland closed the half with its own three-goal run, two off McNaney's stick, for an 8-4 lead at the break.
Riley made it a 9-4 lead 42 seconds into the third quarter, and the score remained the same until a flurry of goals in the final 4:17. Dow cut the lead to 9-5, but Cortland strung together four goals to end the quarter with a 13-5 lead. The Red Dragons seized control by netting the first three goals of the fourth quarter just 2:18 in and held a commanding 16-5 lead. St. Lawrence outscored Cortland, 5-4, down the stretch but could not cut its deficit to less than eight goals as the Red Dragons earned the 20-10 win.
