CORTLAND, N.Y. - Junior Brian Krol (Niskayuna) scored a game-high four goals and senior Joey Morgan (Putnam Valley) added three scores to lead the nationally ninth-ranked Cortland men's lacrosse team to a 13-4 win versis 16th-ranked St. Lawrence in a physical non-conference game Wednesday afternoon at the Stadium Complex. The Red Dragons improved to 12-2 with the win, while the Saints had an eight-game winning streak snapped and fell to 9-3.

Freshman Greg Wright (Irondequoit) had a goal and an assist for Cortland, and senior defender Matt Noble (La Fayette), junior Brandon Misiaszek (New Hartford), sophomores Chris DeLuca (Sayville) and Eric Parah (Baldwinsville/C.W. Baker) and freshman Mike Tota (Webster/Webster Schroeder) each scored a goal. Senior goalie Matt Hipenbecker (Mountain Lakes, NJ) made 11 saves in 54 minutes, 22 seconds before giving way to senior Mike Robinson (Alexandria, VA/Thomas Edison), who stopped two shots in the final 5:38.

For the Saints, senior Peter Carroll (Pennington, NJ/Hopewell Valley) scored twice and seniors John Allen (Amherst) and Collin Moon (Winnetka, IL/New Trier) scored one goal apiece. Senior goalie Thomas Hollingsworth (Wilton, CT) made 10 saves over the first three quarters, and junior Andrew Cochran (Kenilworth, IL/Millbrook School) recorded two saves in the final 15 minutes. Junior Trevor Scoon (New Canaan, CT/Trinity-Pawling School) registered seven ground balls, and senior P.J. Santora (Cos Cob, CT/Millbrook School) won 16 of 20 faceoffs.

The game featured 23 penalties, 14 on Cortland and nine on St. Lawrence with the Red Dragons converting 1 of 6 chances and the Saints being held scoreless in 11 man-up opportunities.

Cortland led 2-0 at the end of one quarter as Krol netted an unassisted goal and Parah scored a man-down goal. The Red Dragons then scored the first three goals of the second quarter for a 5-0 lead. Misiaszek made it 3-0 at 8:53, and Noble made a length of the field run and scored his first of the season at 7:14. Krol netted the only man-up goal of the game at 5:20 before Carroll finally put the Saints on the scoreboard at the 2:54 mark.

Cortland pulled away in the third quarter, outscoring the St. Lawrence, 6-3, for an 11-4 advantage. Ten of the game's penalties were whistled in the third stanza. After the Saints pulled to within 8-4 with 4:43 left in the quarter, Tota and DeLuca scored just 23 seconds apart and Krol finished the scoring with his fourth of the game at 16 seconds. Tota's goal was a reflection of the crazy game as a Saint close defenseman threw a pass back toward his cage, but the only player in the vicinity was Tota who snared the pass and dropped a shot into the empty cage.

Morgan finished off the scoring with a pair of scores in the fourth quarter, the first an around-the-back shot at 13:16 and the second an unassisted effort at 5:38.

Cortland's eight seniors -- Morgan, Noble, Hipenbecker, Robinson, Conor Duffy (Vestal), Cody Hoyt (Babylon), Luke Lemon (Colorado Springs, CO/Air Academy) and Kevin Mitchell (Vienna, VA/Oakton) -- were honored prior to the game.

2009-04-23