Cortland club lacrosse knocks off no. 13 Cornell and no. 12 Union in overtime to secure their second straight Empire East title.
On a sunny Sunday afternoon in Cortland, New York three of the top teams of the Empire East conference came to face off with the winner walking away with the title of Empire East conference champions.
All three teams entered the weekend undefeated in conference play so this slate of games would be crucial for final seeding. Two wins can secure you the title and home field advantage for playoffs, but two losses might end up placing you outside of the postseason.
Cortland, who won the Empire East Division I title last year, was looking to make it a repeat. Coming off of a rough weekend at Maryland University where they underperformed against the no. 2 and no. 3 nationally ranked teams in Ohio State and Maryland the Red Dragons were not ranked for the first time all season.
“after our outing in Maryland didn’t go our way, I believe it was still a valuable experience for the younger guys on the team.” said Cortland Club Lacrosse President Chris Cascio “The team wanted to show up today firing on all cylinders.”
The first game between Cortland and Cornell was set to start at 11am. Cornell, who was coming off of a big win from the day before against UAlbany, only showed up with 14 players total. With nine players on the field at a time that left Big Red with only five subs for the entire day.
Compared to Cortland’s team, which could have been separated into four different squads, it was a noticeable difference. It was apparent that this difference had some effect on the game as well.
For the first half the game was close and seemed like it would be a battle from beginning to end. Cortland scored the opening goal but dropped passes and bad communications on offense led to great opportunities on the other side for Cornell and they took a 2-1 lead during the first quarter.
This would be the last lead Cornell wouldhold for the game as #17 Ryan Smith subbed into the game and the ball gets passed his way. Despite not catching it cleanly Smith was able to coral the ball while knocking a Cornell defenseman to the ground. This gave him the chance he needed to fire one right past goalie and tie the game up for Cortland.
This would not be Smith’s only highlight of the half as in the second quarter Smith motioned his hand toward Cornell defenseman #24 baiting him in to push up and play defense on him. #24 took the challenge but it did not work out for him as Smith’s quick feet were too much and he got around #24 and scored with ease. Making it 4-2 Red Dragons.
The game continued on and the Red Dragon lead began to grow 5-2, 6-2 finally 7-2 before the Bears finally netted one making it 7-3.
“our players were just too tired to keep making those hustle plays that make all the difference in the sport of lacrosse” said Devin Hyams, the president of the Cornell club lacrosse team “I think anyone watching could tell the energy of the big red was rapidly falling.”
In a sport as physically demanding as lacrosse not having a full team can have negative effects on the team not only physically but mentally as well. Hyams said that the team morale was low from the time they left this morning.
As for Cortland, each team member was important in their own right. Aside from the highlight plays by the attack-men the guys who do the dirty work are always worthy of some love.
The play from guys like #9 Zack VanValkenburgh who dominated the face of matchups in both games and got the Red Dragon’s many extra possessions (19/22 FO 1G, 1A). As well as #23 Peter Hespe who continued his defensive masterclass from the game against UAlbany locking down the Cornell attack and working the ball up field for good clearances. These players really stood out on the field and contributed to the win.
Of course the Cortland goalie #10 Chris Cascio was a major factor in the two games as well he finished with 24 saves and played big in between the pipes all day.
Cortland took the first game of the day with a score of 9-4.
Cortland coming off of a win was set to go up against the #12 ranked Union club lacrosse team. Union was promoted to division I of the National Club Lacrosse League (NCLL) after winning the division II championship last year. Alec D’Orio Unions club lacrosse president wants to continue Union’s winning ways from the previous season and build Unions program to be the best it can be.
“Expectations were same as last year keep winning games and get back to national tournament we have met those expectations so far” said D’Orio.
So far they have been, coming into Sunday’s game with a 4-1 record with their only loss coming in triple overtime against the Hudson Hellfire of Army.
Leading up to the game both sides were deeming this to be the most important game of the season.
The whistle blew and play began. Union controlled most of the possession for the first quarter but found no joy in their scoring opportunities. Cascio was magnificent in the second game holding Union to zero goals for the entire first quarter. Cortland managed to find the back of the net on their first opportunity and they were lucky they did as they did not have many chances at all for the quarter.
This lead did not last long as a costly turnover in front of the net led to an easy goal for the Dutchmen eveing out the score at 1-1 only a few seconds into the quarter.
Cortland punched back with a combo of #9 VanValkenburgh, #11 Jack Paton and #23 Matt Thraser all scoring goals and the Red Dragons took a 5-3 lead going into halftime. The bout between these heavyweights was only just beginning.
#18 Joe Lamson had his fingerprints all over the game. After scoring the first goal of the game he began the second half with a goal where he jumped in the air, caught and slotted it behind the goalie all in one motion.
Robbie Travato the Union goalie made multiple huge stops all game long especially down the stretch for the Dutchmen.
“Travato kept us in both games and he’s the star of the weekend,” said D’Orio.
Entering the 4th down by a score of 8-4 Travato would have to rely on his offense in order to get the team back in the game and that they did.
A similar jumping goal to Lamsons was scored by the Dutchmen to cut the lead to three. Quickly scoring another goal to cut it to two with only 10 minutes to go. #23 Thraser cashed in a goal to hopefully stop the bleeding but Unions relentless pressure was too much for the Cortland defense. It seemed like every shot chance they had went in.
“During the Union game we had some communication issues arise late and defensive mis-ques to let Union tie it up late in the 4th,” said Cascio.
The game was tied up 9-9 with only 2 minutes to go and that’s where it stood until overtime. Overtime works as the next goal wins so gaining the first possession is crucial. #9 VanValkenburgh who had been dominating the face off circle all day stayed consistent and won it for Cortland.
A quick timeout was called in the huddle. The captains reminded the team “to stay poised, to play the game how we did in the start,” said Cascio.
This piece of advice came out to be helpful, Cortland lost the ball coming out of the timeout and had to remain strong and rely on their defense to get a stop. After an extended possession from Union where they had multiple scoring chances Chris Cascio finally made the save the Red Dragons needed.
Pushing up the field #18 Lamson found himself open 1 on 1 with the goalie. A quick deke got the goalie leaning and Lamson netted the game winner six minutes into overtime.
Lamsons OT shot not only won Cortland the match but secured the Red Dragons a second straight Empire East Title. Improving their conference record to 4-0 and their overall record to 4-3.
Cortland finds themselves back in the top 20 this week slotted in at no. 13. Union fell two spots to no. 15 after going 1-1 on the weekend and the shorthanded Cornell Bears went 0-2 and lost their spot inside the rankings.