The Cortland men’s lacrosse team showed off their athletic ability at Grady Field, defeating Oneonta 17-6. The home team Red Dragons improved to 9-4 overall and 5-0 in the conference with this victory, extending their wins in 5 of the last 6 games. Conversely, the visiting Red Dragons fell to 2-3 in the SUNYAC and 6-7 overall.
Sam Rothman led Cortland’s offensive assault with a career-high six goals and an assist, resulting in a total of seven points throughout the game. Nick Stoecker added two goals and two assists, while Klay Stuver scored three goals and provided an assist in addition to Rothman’s outstanding performance.
“It felt really good to be able to rebound from last game’s loss to Ithaca,” said Stuver. “Losing to a rival like Ithaca puts a really bad taste in your mouth so being able to bounce back and beat a conference rival the way we did made me feel really good about our team.”
With one goal apiece from six additional players, Cortland’s scoring depth was evident. Caden Yancey stood out with a goal and three assists, while Bradley Cunningham and Ryan Eccles each contributed a goal and an assist. In addition, Alex Thrasher and Bobby Kratochvil scored goals, and Sean Kavanagh contributed two assists.
“Being able to get so many different guys in the box score felt good,” said Eccles. “Having so many different people score and give assists is going to make it hard for teams to match up and create a game plan to defend us for the rest of the season.
Cortland was equally impressive on the defensive side of the ball. Travis Wagner, the goalie, finished with nine saves, two caused turnovers, and two ground balls. Rich Finn won nine out of eleven faceoffs, dominating the action. Dino Bowen collected four ground balls and forced two turnovers.
“Oneonta was just another team that was in the way of us and our goal,” said Bowen. “We knew that we had to go out there and secure a dominant victory to show the rest of the conference that we’re not going out without a fight and that we’re going to peak as a team as the playoffs approach.”
Oneonta made a great attempt, but it was impossible to equal Cortland’s intensity. Oneonta’s offense was led by two goals apiece by Thomas Hnis, and Anthony Munro, with one goal apiece from Mathew Krieg and Stephan Barikyan. Johnny Terrana, Eric Nicholson, and Aidan Boyle all provided assists.
Harrison Boukas, the goalie for Oneonta, collected three ground balls while making 16 saves. For Oneonta, Barikyan was an outstanding player who finished with a game-high six ground balls and nine faceoff victories.
After exchanging blows early in the game, Cortland went on a six-goal run to end the first half with a dominating 12-point lead. Even after Oneonta mounted a small comeback, Cortland continued to dominate and won 17-6.
Cortland maintains its lead in the SUNYAC standings after this victory. The team’s outstanding performance shows off their potential as they aim to carry on winning for the duration of the season.