Cortland Sports Information Department
BRUNSWICK, MAINE – In a game of scoring runs and momentum swings, the nationally 10th-ranked St. Lawrence men's lacrosse team held off a late Cortland comeback to secure a 15-14 win in the second round of the NCAA Div. III playoffs Saturday afternoon at Bowdoin College. The Red Dragons ended their season at 13-7, while the Saints, who defeated Cortland earlier this season at another neutral site, improved to 14-4 and advanced to face host Bowdoin on Sunday in the third round.
Senior Dante Yacavone (Homer) led the Cortland offense with three goals and two assists, and junior Tyler Starrett (Redding, CT/Joel Barlow) also netted three goals. Senior Christopher Dovi (Cortland) tallied two goals and one assist, and graduate student Brandon Stiles (Mastic/Eastport-South Manor), junior Austin Palmer (Hamburg/St. Francis) and sophomore Colton Smith (South Bristol/Penn Yan Academy) each recorded one goal and one assist.
Seniors Troy Morris (Long Beach) and Kyle Boden (Wading River/Shoreham-Wading River) and freshman Caden Yancey (Fayetteville/Fayetteville-Manlius) netted one goal each, graduate student Jacob Rivers (Homer) collected two assists and freshman Jack O'Brien (Babylon) added an assist for Cortland.
Sophomore goalie Travis Wagner (Penfield) matched his season high with 17 saves in 56 minutes, 18 seconds for the Red Dragons. Junior Matt Stento (Bethlehem) played the final 3:42 and did not face a shot on goal. Sophomore Matt Amato (Kingston/Millbrook School) and freshman Alex Thrasher (Vestal) each secured four ground balls.
Josh Huiatt led the Saints with four goals and one assist. Chris Jordan tallied a game-high six points on two goals and four assists. Ben Murtagh and Judge Murphy each finished with two goals and an assist. Jack Hennessey, Ben Hutchinson, Stew Hutchinson, Bobby Wells and Padraic Condon scored one goal each.
Goalie William Helm registered nine saves. Condon won 17-of-25 faceoffs and scooped up 10 ground balls, and Brendan Brigham was successful on 6-of-8 faceoffs as St. Lawrence won 23-of-33 in the game.
The Saints opened the game with the first three goals from three different scorers. The Red Dragons answered with three straight goals of their own, also from three different players before Huiatt closed the first quarter with his second goal of the game to give St. Lawrence a 4-3 lead. After Jordan put the Saints up 5-3 with an early second-quarter goal, Cortland responded with a four-goal run, one each from Palmer, Stiles, Dovi and Boden, to grab a 7-5 lead with 2:12 left in the half. Murphy's second goal of the game at the 1:37 mark sent the game into intermission with the Red Dragons holding a 7-6 advantage.
In the first half of the third quarter, Cortland outscored the Saints, 3-2, to take a 10-8 lead, but St. Lawrence ended the quarter on a three-goal run to grab an 11-10 advantage. Jordan put St. Lawrence up, 12-10, with his second goal of the game 38 seconds into the fourth quarter, but Starrett netted back-to-back goals and the score was knotted at 12-12 with 9:46 to play.
The Saints then ran together three consecutive goals, two from Murtagh, in less than two minutes and led 15-12 with 3:42 on the clock. Yacavone's third goal at 2:10 cut Cortland's deficit to 15-13, and Yancey made it a 15-14 game with his goal at 1:33. St. Lawrence won the ensuing faceoff, and after timeouts from each team, the Saints turned the ball over with 30 seconds remaining. The Red Dragons worked a good clear, which led to a shot by Yacavone with a chance to tie the game but Helm made the save to preserve the Saints' 15-14 win.
St. Lawrence 15, Cortland 14
GAME SUMMARY:
Team 1-2-3-4 Final
Cortland 3-4-3-4 14
St. Lawrence 4-2-5-4 15
Scoring (Goals-Assists):
Cortland: Dante Yacavone 3-2, Tyler Starrett 3-0, Christopher Dovi 2-1, Colton Smith 1-1, Brandon Stiles 1-1, Austin Palmer 1-1, Troy Morris 1-0, Caden Yancey 1-0, Kyle Boden 1-0, Jacob Rivers 0-2, Jack O'Brien 0-1
St. Lawrence: Josh Huiatt 4-1, Chris Jordan 2-4, Ben Murtagh 2-1, Judge Murphy 2-1, Jack Hennessey 1-0, Ben Hutchinson 1-0, Stew Hutchinson 1-0, Bobby Wells 1-0, Padraic Condon 1-0, Mark Mahoney 0-1
Goalkeepers:
Cortland: Travis Wagner, 17 saves (15 GA in 56:18), Matt Stento, 0 saves (0 GA in 3:42)
St. Lawrence: William Helm, 9 saves (14 GA in 60:00)
Shots: St. Lawrence 52, Cortland 34
Ground Balls: St. Lawrence 33, Cortland 21
Turnovers: St. Lawrence 11, Cortland 9
Caused Turnovers: St. Lawrence 4, Cortland 3
Clears: Cortland 23-of-24, St. Lawrence 13-of-13
Faceoffs Won: St. Lawrence 23, Cortland 10
Penalties: Cortland 2-1:30, St. Lawrence 2-1:30
Extra-Man Offense: Cortland 1-2, St. Lawrence 0-2
Records after game: Cortland (Red Dragons) 13-7; St. Lawrence (Saints) 14-4 (ranked 10th in Div. III)
