Courtesy of Cortland Athletics

MIDDLETOWN, CONN. – The nationally fifth-ranked Wesleyan men's lacrosse team used a five-goal run spanning the second and third quarters to build a six-goal lead and held off Cortland, 16-12, in the second round of the NCAA Div. III Tournament Wednesday afternoon. The Red Dragons had their season come to a close with a 12-7 record and a tie for 17th nationally. The Cardinals improved to 15-3 and will face Cabrini in the third round on Saturday.

Junior Terrence Haggerty  led Cortland with five goals, finishing the season with 54, which is just four short of the Cortland single-season record set by Billy Fuchs in 2008. Graduate student Devin Phelps concluded his career with two goals and two assists, moving into sixth place all-time in scoring with 226 points on 112 goals and 114 assists.

Junior Dean Riley  tallied two goals and one assist, and junior Joey Panariello also netted two goals. Senior Thomas McNaney recorded five points on one goal and four assists and finished his two-year career with 141 points on 71 goals and 70 assists. Senior Trevor Pratt, junior Mike McNaneyand freshman Jake Kelleher each added an assist.

Senior goalie Joe Scalise turned aside 11 shots and collected five ground balls. Scalise wrapped up his career with 604 saves, second all-time in program history. Pratt and Thomas McNaney each scooped up four ground balls.

Ronan Jacoby paced Wesleyan with five goals and one assist. Scott Irwin tallied three goals and one assist, and Harry Stanton also scored three goals. Taylor Ghesquiere registered one goal and one assist, while Christian Barker, Ben Shively and Zach Zavalick each netted a goal. Carter Hawthorne chipped in with four assists.

Goalie Otto Bohan made 13 saves. Zavalick won 18-of-26 faceoffs and secured 12 ground balls. Andres Rodriguez caused two turnovers, and Shively added three ground balls.

Cortland grabbed a 3-2 lead just over five minutes into the game, but the Cardinals went on a four-goal run with scores from four different players to take a 6-3 advantage. Haggerty's first goal of the game pulled Cortland to within 6-4 after the first quarter. Riley and Haggerty sandwiched goals around Shively's score, and the Red Dragons trailed, 7-6, at the 2:21 mark of the second quarter. Wesleyan, however, netted a man-down goal at 1:39 and another goal at 55 seconds to take a 9-6 lead into the break.

The Cardinals extended their lead to 12-6 at the 5:22 mark of the third quarter with the first three goals of the period. The Red Dragons grabbed momentum heading into the final 15 minutes when Haggerty scored at 42 seconds and Panariello netted his second goal of the game three seconds before the horn to pull Cortland to within 12-8.

Wesleyan slowed the Cortland rally by netting two of the first three goals of the fourth quarter for a 14-9 advantage with 10:02 on the clock. The Red Dragons responded by scoring three of the next four goals and cut their deficit to 15-12 at the 3:46 mark. Cortland won the ensuing faceoff but could not beat Bohan. The teams eventually traded turnovers before Irwin completed the scoring at 41 seconds for the 16-12 final.
       
Wesleyan 16, Cortland 12

GAME SUMMARY:

Team                     1-2-3-4   Final
Cortland                 4-2-2-4      12
Wesleyan               6-3-3-4      16

Scoring (Goals-Assists):
Cortland: Terrence Haggerty 5-0, Devin Phelps 2-2, Dean Riley 2-1, Joey Panariello 2-0, Thomas McNaney 1-4, Jake Kelleher 0-1, Trevor Pratt 0-1, Mike McNaney 0-1
Wesleyan: Ronan Jacoby 5-1, Scott Irwin 3-1, Harry Stanton 3-0, Taylor Ghesquiere 1-1, Christian Barker 1-0, Cole Turpin 1-0, Ben Shively 1-0, Zach Zavalick 1-0, Carter Hawthorne 0-4, Ryan Flippin 0-1, Eric Meyreles 0-1

Goalkeepers:
Cortland: Joe Scalise, 11 saves (16 GA in 60:00)
Wesleyan: Otto Bohan, 13 saves (12 GA in 60:00)

Shots: Wesleyan 43, Cortland 39
Ground Balls: Cortland 436, Wesleyan 34
Turnovers: Cortland 17, Wesleyan 16
Caused Turnovers: Cortland 6, Wesleyan 5
Clears: Wesleyan 10-of-12, Cortland 13-of-18
Faceoffs Won: Wesleyan 20, Cortland 10
Penalties: Wesleyan 6-5:30, Cortland 2-1:30
Extra-Man Offense: Cortland 2-6, Wesleyan 1-2

Records after the game: Cortland (Red Dragons) 12-7, Wesleyan (Cardinals) 15-3 (ranked 5th in Div. III)