By: James Calidonna
The 10-4 SUNY Cortland Men’s Lacrosse team are looking to make a run going into the SUNYAC playoffs. Coming off of four straight wins, the team is looking to extend its streak as they head into next week’s game against Oswego.
Since Cortland’s devastating loss to Nazareth just under three weeks ago, Coach Beville and his team have stopped at nothing to get that win back. Since that loss, the team has combined for a whopping sixty goals in four games.
With only two games left in the regular season, Cortland is looking to close out the season with no more defeats. The team meets the Oswego men’s lacrosse team on Wednesday the 26th.
Fresh off their 17-8 victory over Oneonta, the team is looking to capitalize on their efforts against the Lakers. Oswego, with a record of 4-1 in the conference, will be a tougher game than that of Plattsburgh with a conference record of 0-5 the following weekend.
After that game, the following week the Red Dragons will face Plattsburgh. 4-1 in their conference, Cortland is looking to slide into the #1 ranked spot before playoffs over Geneseo who has a perfect 5-0 record in their conference.
But If the standings remain the same until playoffs, Cortland will be looking to play Oswego in the Semi Finals of the conference. On the other side of the bracket, Geneseo will play against Oneonta to see who moves on to the SUNYAC finals.
The way the playoff picture works is the highest 4 ranked teams make the playoffs. The #1 ranked team plays the #4 ranked team and the #2 plays the #3 ranked team.
As of right now the standings are as follows:
Coming in at the #1 seed is Geneseo with an overall record of 11-4 along with an undefeated conference record of 5-0.
In the #2 spot in the conference is our very own Red Dragons looking to take that #1 seed.
At #3 there is Oswego with an overall record of 6-4.
Finally, at #4, we have Oneonta with an overall record of 7-5 alongside being 3-2 in the conference games.
These rankings are subject to change as any one of these teams could lose their next game and change the rankings. As of right now, with their schedule ahead of them, it looks like Cortland will remain the #2 speed and have a spot in the playoffs.
Injuries have been far and few this season for the Red Dragons, but more recently players Dino Bowen and Klay Stuver have been stepping up to the plate. With their relentless efforts, one requires rest. Johnny Bowen and Ryan Smith have stepped out against Oneonta to help them recover and rejuvenate. Johnny Bowen and Ryan Smith have done wonders for the lacrosse team when needed.
With the skill level they possess currently, the other SUNYAC teams will have a difficult time trying to compete with our lacrosse team during the playoffs next week.