CORTLAND, N.Y. – The nationally fourth-ranked Cortland men's lacrosse team held eighth-ranked Stevens Institute, the nation's top-scoring team in Div. III, scoreless for a span of 34 minutes and 51 seconds and went on to a 10-3 win in the second round of the NCAA Div. III playoffs Saturday night at the SUNY Cortland Stadium Complex. The Red Dragons improved to 16-2 with their 12th consecutive win and advanced to face Tufts University in the national quarterfinals. The game is a rematch of the 2010 national semifinal game won by Tufts, 10-9, at Cortland. The Ducks had their season end at 16-3.

Senior Jay DiStefano (Huntington/Harborfields) led the Cortland offense with five goals, and senior Neal Hopps (Akwesasne/Massena) netted a career-best four goals. Junior Greg Wright (Irondequoit/West Irondequoit) scored a goal, and senior Chris DeLuca (Sayville), junior Jack Kennedy (Camillus/West Genesee) and freshman Joe Slavik (Binghamton/Seton Catholic) each contributed an assist. DeLuca also won 9-of-12 faceoffs and collected a game-high seven ground balls, while Kennedy added three caused turnovers. Freshman goalie Scott Tota (Webster/Webster Schroeder) made five saves to run his record to 12-0 on the season.

Senior Brandon Faubert (Virginia Beach, VA/Cape Henry Collegiate) paced the Ducks with one goal and one assist. Senior Chris Laurita (South Brunswick, NJ) and junior Kevin Rose (Garden City) each scored once and junior Alex Hofrichter (Terrance Park, OH/Archbishop Moeller) chipped in with an assist. Junior goalie Eric Yando (Baldwinsville/C.W. Baker) made 16 saves in 58:55, and sophomore Connor Nolan (Goffstown, NH) did not make a save in 1:05. Junior Matt Marks (Cortland) recorded six ground balls and three caused turnovers.

DiStefano gave Cortland the lead just 1:12 into the game, and the score remained 1-0 until late in the opening quarter when Hopps scored his first of the night. Rose cut the lead to 2-1 at 3:04, but Hopps made it 3-1 with a goal 20 seconds before the end of the quarter. Faubert then won the ensuing faceoff and scored unassisted eight seconds later and Cortland held a 3-2 lead after 15 minutes.

The Red Dragons increased their lead to 6-2 at the half, blanking the Ducks in the second quarter. DiStefano netted a man-up goal at 5:45 and then Hopps and DiStefano scored at 41 and 12 seconds, respectively, to carry the momentum into the break

DiStefano was the only player to find the back of the net in the third quarter, scoring his third of the game just eight seconds into the stanza after a DeLuca face-off win and adding his fourth at the 1:16 mark to put Cortland ahead 8-2 through 45 minutes.

Laurita eventually broke the Ducks' scoring slump with a man-up goal at 10:21 of the fourth, but Stevens would not score again. DiStefano tallied his fifth at 7:56 and Hopps capped the scoring with his fourth at 4:02 while all alone in front for the 10-3 final.   

Cortland 10, Stevens 3

GAME SUMMARY:

Team                        1-2-3-4        Final
Stevens (16-3)        2-0-0-1            3
Cortland (16-2)       3-3-2-2          10

Scoring (Goals-Assists):
Stevens: Brandon Faubert 1-1, Kevin Rose 1-0, Chris Laurita 1-0, Alex Hofrichter 0-1 
Cortland: Jay DiStefano 5-0, Neal Hopps 4-0, Greg Wright 1-0, Chris DeLuca 0-1, Joe Slavik 0-1, Jack Kennedy 0-1

Goalkeepers:
Stevens: Eric Yando, 16 saves (9 GA in 58:55), Connor Nolan, 0 saves (1 GA in 1:05)
Cortland: Scott Tota, 5 saves (3 GA in 60:00)

Shots: Cortland 54, Stevens 25 
Ground Balls: Cortland 32, Stevens 25 
Turnovers: Stevens 20, Cortland 12
Caused Turnovers: Cortland 11, Stevens 7
Clears: Cortland 14-of-18, Stevens 13-of-17 
Faceoffs Won: Cortland 10, Stevens 7
Penalties: Stevens 7-6:30, Cortland 3-2:30
Extra-Man Offense: Cortland 1-6, Stevens 1-3