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No. 2 Red Dragons overpower Potsdam laxmen on Senior Day

Posted 4/28/12

POTSDAM, N.Y.—The second-ranked SUNY Cortland Red Dragons (16-0, 6-0 SUNYAC) rode a big first half lead to a 16-8 victory over the SUNY Potsdam men's lacrosse team (5-8, 1-5) on Saturday afternoon. …

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No. 2 Red Dragons overpower Potsdam laxmen on Senior Day

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POTSDAM, N.Y.—The second-ranked SUNY Cortland Red Dragons (16-0, 6-0 SUNYAC) rode a big first half lead to a 16-8 victory over the SUNY Potsdam men's lacrosse team (5-8, 1-5) on Saturday afternoon. Senior attackman Mike Tota had a big day for Cortland with seven goals and two assists and fellow Red Dragon senior Greg Wright contributed three goals and three assists. Senior attackman Peter Pike scored two goals in his final game as a Bear, as did sophomore attackman Rob Kunz.

Cortland raced out to a 5-0 lead in the opening six and a half minutes. Tota had a goal and an assist in the barrage. Junior midfielder Pat Morrill got Potsdam on the board with an assist from sophomore midfielder Jared Flath at the 2:48 mark. Tota notched his second at 1:04 and the Red Dragons led 6-1 after one quarter.

Freshman midfielder Dave Kunz won the opening faceoff of the second period, raced down field and set up Pike to make it 6-2 just five seconds in. Cortland closed the first half with an offensive show. The Red Dragons got seven in a row, including five from Tota. Three of the seven markers were man-up tallies. Freshman midfielder Mike Cantelli capped the run with a goal with 41 seconds on the clock. The Red Dragons took a 13-2 advantage into the break.

Pike buried a pass from Rob Kunz at the 9:47 and Kunz notched his own at 6:36 to cut the gap to 13-4. The Red Dragons answered just over four minutes later as Wright and Tota hooked up for the only Cortland score of the third quarter. Potsdam finally got some momentum late in the quarter, starting a 4-0 run of its own on a goal from junior attackman Kyle Nicholas at 1:28.

Kunz, sophomore midfielder Matt Donovan and freshman midfielder Dylan DiFante scored in succession to get the Bears to within 14-8 with 4:55 remaining. DiFante's goal was the first of his career. The Red Dragons tacked on the final two markers of the contest to seal the 16-8 win.

In goal, senior Mike Quinlan stopped eight shots and allowed 13 goals in the first 30 minutes for the loss. Potsdam junior goalie Stefan Sloma made nine saves and allowed three goals in the second half. Red Dragon junior goalie Mike Kaminski earned the victory with two saves and two goals allowed in the first half. Senior Kyle Gaebel stopped four shots and allowed the final six Bear goals.

The contest brings a close to the careers of seniors Pike, Quinlan, Chris Mazzeo, Steve Tupper, Rashaun Durden, Tyler Flath, Ryan Paparella and Jason Falk.