FOXBOROUGH, MASS. - Junior Brandon Misiaszek (New Hartford) scored a career-high five goals and was named the Most Outstanding Player as the nationally fourth-ranked Cortland men's lacrosse team won its second NCAA Division III title since 2006 with a 9-7 victory over fifth-ranked Gettysburg College at Gillette Stadium on Sunday afternoon. The Red Dragons finished 2009 at 19-2, setting a school record for wins in a season, and handed third-year head coach Steve Beville his 200th career victory. The Bullets had their 14-game winning streak snapped and finished 16-4.

Junior Brian Krol (Niskayuna) was the only other Cortland player to score more than one goal, netting two in the game. Senior Joey Morgan (Putnam Valley) and freshman Mike Tota (Webster/Webster Schroeder) each recorded a goal and an assist. Tota finished the season with 49 goals, just one short of becoming the seventh player in school history to score 50 in a season. Junior Tom Burke (Massapequa), sophomore Chris DeLuca (Sayville) and freshman Greg Wright (Irondequoit) chipped in with one assist apiece. Burke added a game-high seven ground balls, while DeLuca won 9 of 14 faceoffs. Senior goalie Matt Hipenbecker (Mountain Lakes, NJ) recorded 10 saves, including seven in the fourth quarter.

Senior Zach Pucci (Ridewood, NJ) and junior Kyle McGrath (Randolph, NJ) led Gettysburg with two goals each. Junior Joe Brody (Bethesda, MD/Walter Johnson) had a goal and two assists, senior Tom O'Donnell (Montgomeryville, PA/La Salle College) registered a goal and an assist and junior Josh Reichert (Englewood, CO/Kent School) scored once. Senior Tommy Kehoe (Coraopolis, PA/Sewickley Academy) and sophomore Danno Lynch (Medfield, MA/Avon Old Farms (CT)) contributed one assist apiece. Senior Zach Furshman (Miami, FL/Kent School (CT)) stopped 12 shots in goal.

The Bullets opened up a 4-2 lead after the first quarter as the Red Dragons turned the ball over four times and were outshot, 12-7. Reichert gave Gettysburg a 1-0 lead at 13 minutes, 24 seconds before Misiaszek tied the game with his first of the day at 12:18. McGrath then netted back-to-back goals for the Bullets for a 3-1 lead, but Krol came back with his 40th goal of the season just nine seconds later after a Cortland faceoff win. Pucci closed the scoring in the first off Brody's assist at 3:24.

After that, the Cortland defense took over the game, holding the Bullets without a goal in the second and third quarters as the scoreless drought spanned a total of 38:03. During that time, The Red Dragons were able to tie the game at the half as Tota and Misiaszek each scored. In the third quarter, Cortland pushed its lead to 9-4 as it outscored Gettysburg, 5-0, making it a 7-0 run. Misiaszek scored the first two goals of the third, followed by Morgan's 31st goal of the season and Krol's man-up goal at 3:56. Misiaszek's biggest goal of the game came as the clock was winding down in the third. He possessed the ball behind the cage, made a move on the right side and deposited a shot past Furshman into the upper corner with two seconds on the clock.

Regarding Misiaszek, Beville said, "He played outstanding. There's a reason why he was selected as the Most Outstanding Player of the game today because his performance was just that. It's been like that all year for us -- pick your poison."

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2009-05-24