The Cortland men\u2019s lacrosse team didn\u2019t finish the season the way that they had always hoped, losing by a goal in the SUNYAC semifinals. Every year, the goal of their team is to win a national championship and winning their conference SUNYAC championship was just another step in the process. Or so they thought. Their last season ended by losing to Geneseo in the conference championship 13-7. Since that point, the team has been seeking revenge this season and hope to take back the title to Cortland.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
How did it feel to lose to Geneseo last season in the playoffs?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cLosing to your conference rival is always one of the worst feelings,\u201d said John Bowen. \u201cIt makes it even a worse feeling when its \u201cwin or go home\u201d, and your rivals get to keep competing, while your season is over.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThat was the first time that I had lost a conference game which came in my third season at Cortland,\u201d said Colton Smith. \u201cIt kind of hits you hard when you\u2019re so used to winning and you finally take that loss.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n What did the team learn\/ what came out of the loss?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI strongly believe that you learn a lot more from losing than you do from winning,\u201d said Miles Kane. \u201cThat gave every guy on this team a chip on their shoulder moving into the offseason and ultimately gave everyone a reason to work harder for their goals for the next season.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe learned that simply nothing is given to us,\u201d said Klay Stuver. \u201cWe know that we were the top team in the SUNYAC but now we’re going to have to impose our will and work tirelessly to prove it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n How is it motivating the team moving forward?<\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt was definitely a hard pill to swallow,\u201d said Travis Wagner. \u201cMoving forward we have to work hard in the offseason and show up everyday to practice ready to work.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe knew after we lost that we never wanted to feel that pain again,\u201d said Dino Bowen. \u201cBeing out on that field playing as a freshman, I felt like I let the seniors down, and I knew from that instant that I was going to work as hard as I could, so that I could potentially prevent that from ever happening again.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n What the offseason was like with a new coach<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n It was the start of a new era this season for the team as they had got a new coach because the one the organization had for the past 17 years, retired. Lelan Rogers was named the \u201cnew\u201d head coach of the Cortland men\u2019s lacrosse team. I say \u201cnew\u201d because Rogers had previously been the head coach at Cortland back in the early 2000\u2019s before going to be the defensive coordinator for the Syracuse University men\u2019s lacrosse team. <\/p>\n\n\n\n What is it like to get a new coach?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThere aren\u2019t two coaches in the world that coach the same so there was definitely the factor of adapting to the new culture that Coach Rogers brought in,\u201d said Travis Moehringer. \u201cThe energy and passion is something that this team has needed for some time and it will greatly benefit us moving forward.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThis is not the first time this has happened to me, as I went through the same thing in high school. At first it is a little set-back trying to figure out how things are going to be run, but eventually we’ll get through the tough times and into the prosperous ones.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n What is the same and what is different\/ do you like what is the same and what is different?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI feel like the only thing that is the same is their will to win,\u201d said Joe Delaney. \u201cBesides that, every coach is different in how they approach their gameplan, and as players, we need to be able to adapt to it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAs a team, we are just trying our best to adapt to the new culture,\u201d said Kole Stuver. \u201cThe faster that we are able to adapt, the quicker we\u2019ll be able to reach our full potential, if not exceed it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n How does this affect the team’s future?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt gave everyone a clean start,\u201d said Ryan Scanlon. \u201cAs a player, this gives you the motivation to prove yourself and show the new coaches what you’re made of without the possibility of prejudices and favorites being played\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI think this is a great start for us,\u201d said Colton Smith. \u201cWe’re a very young team with not a lot of players graduating, so this gives the young guys a chance to grow with a coach that we know we can trust.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Beginning of season before games<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The team had to adapt to Coach Rogers coaching style as it was different from the previous coach, Coach Beville. The team played in two scrimmages before the start of the season, at Union, and at home versus Hamilton. The scrimmages were a learning point for the team as they have never competed under the coaching staff before. <\/p>\n\n\n\n How did the scrimmages go for the team?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe got our butts kicked in the two scrimmages,\u201d said Dino Bowen. \u201cIt was a wake up call to us that there are plenty of good teams out there and that we are going to have to get better if we want to compete with all of them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt was an ugly site to see us during the scrimmages,\u201d said Joe Delaney. \u201cThank god they didn\u2019t count towards our record, but they ultimately got us ready for our first game of the season.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n What did the team learn from the scrimmages?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThere was definitely a lot learned from the two scrimmages before the season started,” said John Bowen. \u201cWe learned that we are not as good as a team as we thought we were.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cLosing is something that you never want to happen, even if it doesn\u2019t count to our regular season record,\u201d said Caden Yancey. \u201cThose two losses made the fellas show up to practice, working their butts off, knowing that we can\u2019t let that happen when it really counts.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n How did the scrimmages help the team moving forward?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cScrimmages are great because they prepare you for what is to come,\u201d said Christian Lembo. \u201cWe knew that we could go out there, practice different sets, formations, and tactics, because at the end of the day, the games weren\u2019t going on our record.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe learned some things about the personnel that were on the field and how to play with each other,\u201d said Sam Rothman. \u201cLearning how your teammates play around you and being able to play off of them is what made the team a lot more prepared for the season.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Games before spring break<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Before the team went on spring break, they played three games and had a record of 2-1, beating St. John Fisher, and Scranton, but unfortunately losing to Cabrini in a 1 goal game. This stretch of game was very important to the team because it sort of dictated the way the rest of the season would go. <\/p>\n\n\n\n What were the positives of the first three games?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe team was definitely skeptical of what kind of performance we were going to put on,\u201d said Miles Kane. \u201cBecause of losing both scrimmages, we kind of doubted what we were capable of.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt gave the team a lot of confidence going forward with the regular season,\u201d said Moehringer. \u201cWe knew that we could compete with anyone we played, but we also learned that we can very easily be beaten if we don\u2019t come ready to play every game.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n What were the negatives of the first three games?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cLosing to Cabrini was a tough loss for us,\u201d said Caden Mora. \u201cKnowing that it was the last time we ever got to play them because their school is shutting down after this season, made it sting a little more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cUnfortunately we’ll never be able to get revenge on them,\u201d said Scanlon. \u201cThe loss put us back into reality after beating up on St. John Fisher and Scranton, before we headed out to Colorado.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n How did the team feel going into spring break?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe boys were definitely excited to fly across the country to compete,\u201d said Eccles. \u201cYou know that there were bound to be many memories made with lifelong friends.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt was a little hectic traveling at once with that many people,\u201d said Sean Kavanaugh. \u201cOur mindset was that we were going there to win both games and come home, but the team was excited to be able to spend that much time together, getting us closer which made us a better team.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Spring break<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n For the team\u2019s spring break this year, they traveled to Colorado Springs, Colorado, where they played two games. The team was very excited for this trip as it was the first time that they have flown together and stayed there for a week straight. Although they knew it was a business trip, they still knew that they were going to be able to do fun activities outside of lacrosse and enjoy a lot of team bonding time together. The team faced-off against Illinois Wesleyan, where they won the game 12-9, and Muhlenberg, where they lost 12-10.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What activities did you do outside of lacrosse while on spring break?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe did a lot of activities outside of lacrosse,\u201d said Wagner. \u201cWe went on hikes, went bowling, and would eat every meal as a team.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHaving the free time that we had, we went to a few different tourist towns and walked around,\u201d said Kavanaugh. \u201cWalking through all the different stores and sharing those moments with your bestfriends is a once in a lifetime opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Was there any team bonding\/ did the guys on the team get closer?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBeing with the same guys for a week straight, non-stop, gets you to know others on the team better,\u201d said Lembo. \u201cWe made memories that\u2019ll last forever.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n What was different playing in Colorado?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI always thought that the elevation of Colorado didn\u2019t affect the athletes playing, even though almost everyone says it does,\u201d said Ryan Eccles. \u201cI\u2019ll be the first one to tell you that the elevation is no joke and that it is way harder to run and catch your breath after.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHaving huge, beautiful, snow-covered mountains in the distance on the field is surely a cool place to be able to play,\u201d said Kane. \u201cIt was something that none of us were used to, playing in New York.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n SUNYAC play after spring break<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n When the team got home from their spring break trip they started out their SUNYAC play against Geneseo where they won 13-6. Throughout the rest of the SUNYAC play, they went undefeated in their conference play. Despite going a perfect 7-0 in conference play, the team would lose two out of conference matchups, RIT by 6 and Ithaca by 1.<\/p>\n\n\n\n How did conference play go?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou can\u2019t ask us to do any better than we did,\u201d said Delaney. \u201cThere were some close calls with Brockport and Potsdam, but we were fortunate enough to get the win.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cGoing undefeated in conference play was our goal and expectation before the season started,\u201d said Smith. \u201cWe knew we wanted to be the 1 seed for conference playoffs so that we got the home field advantage.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n How did the Ithaca game go?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt was a terrible feeling to lose to a rival team like Ithaca,\u201d said Klay Stuver. \u201cEspecially when it’s by one goal and you know that if one more play went our way, we could have easily been victorious.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe should have won the Ithaca game,\u201d said Josh Michel. \u201cWe had so many opportunities to capitalize and get the win, but we were unable to do so. I think it lit a fire under some guys’ butts because from that point forward, everyone showed up to practice wanting to compete.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n What were the team’s thoughts about how the regular season went?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThere were a few games throughout the season that we should have won,\u201d said John Bowen. \u201cIt sucks to look back as a senior knowing that we made mistakes that we shouldn\u2019t have in some games, and the guys who are graduating will never be able to get revenge on those teams.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt was one of the most fun and enjoyable seasons that I\u2019ve had the pleasure to experience,\u201d said Rothman. \u201cThere were many ups and downs which made this team closer.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Going into SUNYAC playoffs and losing<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The men\u2019s lacrosse team went into their conference playoffs undefeated and given the number 1 seed. Unfortunately the Potsdam Bears came to play in the semifinals of the conference tournament and would be able to pull the upset off, abruptly ending the Red Dragons season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n How did the team feel going into the conference playoffs?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe felt really confident going into the conference playoffs,\u201d said Michel. \u201cWe wanted to peak and play our best lacrosse at the right time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBeing the number 1 seed gave us a lot of confidence,\u201d said Kane. \u201cUnfortunately we let that get to our heads, and we didn\u2019t make the conference championship in the first few years.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n What happened in the team’s last game vs Potsdam?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cPotsdam came to play and give us their best game,\u201d said Mora. \u201cWe let them hang around too long and they took advantage of that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThings just did not go our way,\u201d said Yancey. \u201cPotsdam is a good team that knew they had a chance to shock us, and we looked past them because we thought we were better.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n How did the team feel after the loss that ended their season?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt is a terrible way to end the season by getting upset,\u201d said Eccles. \u201cWe had bigger goals and thought that we should have made it farther.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt sucks to be a senior and know that you\u2019ll never get to strap it up with your best friends ever again,\u201d said Bradley Cunningham. \u201cI would do anything to be able to set foot back out onto Grady field for one more practice.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Cortland men\u2019s lacrosse team didn\u2019t finish the season the way that they had always hoped, losing by a goal in the SUNYAC semifinals. Every year, the goal of their team is to win a national championship and winning their conference SUNYAC championship was just another step in the process. Or so they thought. Their […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":349,"featured_media":5093,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[43],"class_list":{"0":"post-5775","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports","8":"tag-sports","9":"entry"},"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/sites.cortland.edu\/dragon-chronicle\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2024\/03\/tempImagepXvg8B.jpg","featured_image_src_square":"https:\/\/sites.cortland.edu\/dragon-chronicle\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2024\/03\/tempImagepXvg8B.jpg","author_info":{"display_name":"Bradley Cunningham","author_link":"https:\/\/sites.cortland.edu\/dragon-chronicle\/author\/bradley-cunningham\/"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.cortland.edu\/dragon-chronicle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5775","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.cortland.edu\/dragon-chronicle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.cortland.edu\/dragon-chronicle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.cortland.edu\/dragon-chronicle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/349"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.cortland.edu\/dragon-chronicle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5775"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sites.cortland.edu\/dragon-chronicle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5775\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.cortland.edu\/dragon-chronicle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5093"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.cortland.edu\/dragon-chronicle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5775"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.cortland.edu\/dragon-chronicle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5775"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.cortland.edu\/dragon-chronicle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5775"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}