Cortland Men's Lacrosse to Face Illinois Wesleyan in NCAA Second Round Saturday at York (Pa.)
Cortland Sports Information Department
The SUNY Cortland men's lacrosse team has earned an automatic berth into the 2025 NCAA Division III playoffs and will face Illinois Wesleyan in a second-round game on Saturday, May 10, at 3 p.m. at York College in Pennsylvania.
The 40-team tournament will begin with eight first-round games on Wednesday, followed by 16 second-round games on Saturday. The winner of the game between Cortland (17-2) and Illinois Wesleyan (14-2) will play either York (16-3), Farmingdale (16-1), or Trinity (8-7) in the third round Sunday at York's Kinsley Field.
The tournament continues with quarterfinal and semifinal games May 17-18, and the national championship game is May 25 at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass.
Cortland, under seventh-year head coach Lelan Rogers, is making its first NCAA tournament appearance since 2022 and 38th overall, including 31 on the Division III level. The Red Dragons also played in every national tournament during Rogers' first stint as head coach at Cortland for five seasons from 2001-05.
Cortland earned its playoff berth by defeating visiting Oneonta, 19-9, in the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) championship game this past Saturday for its 29th league title. Tournament MVP Ryan Scanlon netted three goals in the championship game, while Klay Stuver (Fairport) and Kole Stuver (Fairport) scored five goals and added one assist apiece in the win.
Illinois Wesleyan earned an automatic berth into the NCAA tournament by winning the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW). The Titans won their third straight conference title by defeating Elmhurst, 16-13, in the championship game.
Cortland and Illinois Wesleyan have had just one prior meeting all-time, which coincidentally came last season in a 12-9 victory for the Red Dragons on a neutral field in Colorado Springs, Colo. Travis Wagner (Penfield) made a career-high 21 saves in the Cortland win, while Sam Rothman (Dix Hills/Half Hollow Hills East) scored five goals and added an assist. Nick Stoecker (East Setauket/Ward Melville) provided two goals and three assists, and Klay Stuver scored a goal and contributed an assist.
Cortland has reached the national quarterfinals 15 times in its last 20 tournament appearances. The Red Dragons have played in the national championship game five times since 2006, with four straight showings from 2006-09 as well as an appearance in 2012. Cortland won the 2006 national crown versus Salisbury and the 2009 title against Gettysburg. The Red Dragons lost to Salisbury in the national finals in 2007, 2008 and 2012.
In addition to its Division III titles in 2006 and 2009, Cortland also won the 1975 NCAA Division II title and the 1973 USILA College Division, a year before the NCAA started sponsoring a championship for Division II. Cortland was national runner-up in the first two NCAA Division III tournaments in 1980 and 1981.
