From the opening faceoff to the final whistle, No. 16 Cortland controlled the pace and surged past No. 8 RPI 17-10 to open the semester on February 18. The big win was a turnaround from Cortland’s preseason loss to Union College.
With three different Cortland players registering at least six points, the Red Dragon offense made a powerful statement.
Stefan Swedlund, a junior attackman, led the team with six goals against the Engineers.
“Offensively, we really connected, there were no selfish goals,” said Swedlund. “Every goal that we scored was assisted.”
Swedlund was also named the SUNYAC Men’s Lacrosse Offensive Athlete of the Week after his impressive performance on Wednesday.
Junior goalie Charlie Falowski also earned SUNYAC Men’s Lacrosse Defensive Athlete of the Week honors after recording 18 saves against RPI.
As a goalie, Falowski said focusing on the controllables is the most important thing.
“I felt my teammates and I were well prepared going into this game, which gave us the confidence to go out there and execute” said Falowski.
Cortland’s offense featured strong contributions across the board against RPI. In addition to Swedlund’s six goals, junior Nick Stoecker recorded a career-high of seven points on three goals and four assists.
Adding to the scoring surge, sophomore Mason Carroll added a hat trick, while sophomore Eli Volk chipped in two goals for the Red Dragons. Junior Caden Morra also contributed a goal and two assists.
Senior captain Dino Bowen made his presence felt beyond the scoring column, scooping up four ground balls and forcing two turnovers.
The two ranked programs went back and forth in the opening minutes, with RPI scoring first before Cortland answered almost immediately with a goal from Swedlund.
The Engineers briefly regained the lead, but Carroll responded with a coast-to-coast goal from midfield to tie the game 2-2.
Swedlund later gave Cortland their lead and completed his hat trick late in the quarter to send Cortland ahead into the second quarter with a 4-3 lead.
The Red Dragons came out strong in the second quarter looking to build on their late first-quarter momentum. Freshman Drew Williamee netted his first collegiate career goal off a man-upfeed from junior Sean Kavanagh. After Swedlund added another, Cortland had a 6-3 lead on the #8 ranked team.
With Cortland leading 9-6 in the final minute of the first half, RPI put two more on the board, closing the gap and trimming the halftime margin to 9-8.
“We went into the second half with the same mentality as we did to start the game which consisted of staying in control of the clearing game and pushing transition when we got the chance,”said Carroll. “Defense also made a few tweaks in the second half to hold RPI to only two goals which gave us many more offensive opportunities.”
The Red Dragons opened the second half with four unanswered goals, including two more from Swedlund, and one each from Carroll and Kavanagh. Although RPI capitalized on a man-up opportunity, Volk and Stoecker responded, giving Cortland a comfortable lead to enter the third quarter.
In the fourth quarter, the Red Dragons defense shut the door. Falowski stood tall in the net, saving eight shots in the closing minutes of the game. Cortland added a few more goals securing a 17–10 victory and completing a statement-making start to the season.
“Being able to start off the season with a top 10 win and getting our revenge on RPI from last year is huge for our team,” said Swedlund. “Energy following the win has been at an all-time high and we are hoping to ride this wave for as long as we can.”
Cortland returns to action next Wednesday against No. 11 St. Lawrence, aiming to build on its early-season momentum.