On a field covered in snow, we see a fierce battle between Tigers and Dragons. No, you’re not reading your favorite George R. R. Martin book. This is a lacrosse game featuring two of the most storied programs in the sport.
The R.I.T. Tigers take on the Cortland Red Dragons on Grady Field. The 17th-ranked Cortland men’s lacrosse team staged a furious fourth-quarter rally, but it wasn’t enough to overcome an early deficit as the Red Dragons fell 12-10 to third-ranked R.I.T. on Wednesday evening at Grady Field.
Cortland saw its seven-game winning streak snapped, while the Tigers extended their strong season with another victory.
Senior attackman Sam Rothman led the Red Dragons with three goals and an assist. Frank Neeson and Caden Yancey each tallied a goal and two assists. Klay Stuver found the net twice for Cortland.
We circle this game on our calendar every year. It’s one of those games you think about during the offseason while putting in all the hard work,” said Rothman.
Defensively, Alex Thrasher anchored the Red Dragons with three caused turnovers and six ground balls. Goalkeeper Travis Wagner recorded 14 saves in a valiant effort and was pivotal in holding R.I.T. scoreless in the fourth quarter.
For R.I.T., Nate Senez led the way with two goals and three assists, while Ethan Harkins netted four goals. Tigers goalkeeper Alex Zborowski made eight saves to secure the victory.
Fast Start for R.I.T.
R.I.T. wasted little time getting on the scoreboard, striking just 51 seconds into the game. However, Cortland responded quickly with goals from Sean Kavanagh and Stuver to take a 2-1 lead with 10:28 left in the opening quarter.
The Tigers answered with two consecutive goals to reclaim the lead at the midway point of the quarter, but Rothman knotted the score at 3-3 with a man-up goal off a Neeson feed with 5:48 remaining.
R.I.T. closed the period strong with two straight goals, taking a 5-3 lead into the second quarter.
Tigers Take Control
Cortland trimmed the deficit to 5-4 early in the second quarter when Stuver notched his second goal of the night off a Rothman assist.
However, R.I.T. dominated the remainder of the half, rattling off four unanswered goals to carry a commanding 9-4 lead into the break.
“You never want to find yourself down going into the locker room at halftime. However, what separates the good from the great teams is the ability to motivate yourself and claw back. That’s something our coaches and captains did a great job of doing in this particular game to spark a comeback”, said Yancey.
The Tigers maintained their momentum early in the third quarter, scoring twice in the opening minutes to extend their advantage to 11-4 with 11:56 remaining.
Rothman responded for Cortland with a goal off a Yancey assist. This was followed by a tremendous effort, which found Nicky Miltenberger winning the ensuing faceoff and sprinting downfield for his first goal of the season and quite possibly the goal of the game. This ignited the Red Dragon bench, and the fan section cut the deficit to 11-6.
R.I.T. tacked on another goal with 4:27 left in the third, bringing the score to 12-6 heading into the final quarter of play.
Cortland’s Late Surge Falls Short
Facing a six-goal deficit, the Red Dragons clamped down defensively, holding R.I.T. scoreless in the fourth quarter while mounting a comeback bid.
Yancey ignited the comeback with a goal off a Liam Burns assist with 12 minutes remaining.
Neeson followed Yancey’s goal with a rebound goal of his own to pull Cortland within four.
Down four, the Red Dragons looked to their senior captain Ryan Scanlon, and he delivered, finding the net off a sweeping dodge and fire-powered bounce shot to cut the lead to just three.
“We found ourselves in a good spot, putting a few goals together and digging into their lead. I knew we needed another to make everyone believe we could come back, so when the opportunity arose, I had to jump on it”, said Scanlon.
Rothman was next up in the attack, scoring an underhanded shot from way outside, his third goal of the game, cutting the deficit to 12-10 with 4:08 left to play.
However, the Red Dragons would be stalled by R.I.T’s late game experience and ability to posses the ball, leaving them no room to complete the comeback before the clock struck zero.
Another all-time classic matchup between two of Upstate New York’s best Division III lacrosse programs. Leaving R.I.T. with a record of 11-1 and the Red Dragons with a record of 7-2.