CANTON, N.Y. – Senior Mike Felice (Baldwinsville/C.W. Baker) recorded six points on five goals and one assist as Cortland began defense of its NCAA Division III title with a 13-8 second-round win at St. Lawrence University. The nationally 12th-ranked Red Dragons (13-5) advance to play at undefeated Western New England College in the national quarterfinals Wednesday at a time to be announced. St. Lawrence, ranked fifth nationally, finishes the season 14-2 while suffering its first home loss since April 16, 2005.

Senior Ryan Simensky (Locust Valley) finished with two goals and three assists and junior Ryan Heath (Baldwinsville/C.W. Baker) scored once and assisted on four goals for Cortland. Junior Billy Fuchs (Merrick/Sanford H. Calhoun) added two goals and one assist and sophomore Michael Robinson (Alexandria, VA/Thomas Edison) made seven saves.

Will McKee (Old Greenwich, CT/The Gunney) led the host Saints with two goals and Kevin Russell (Madison, CT/Fairfield Prep) finished with a goal and an assist. Peter Carroll (Pennington, NJ/Hopewell Valley Central) chipped in with three assists and Justin Demuth (Jordan/Jordan-Elbridge) stopped 10 shots on goal. St. Lawrence entered NCAA play on a 12-game winning streak, and the Saints had also defeated Cortland at home, 7-5, to open the season.

Cortland took a 2-1 lead on a Simensky goal with 21 seconds left in the first quarter, but St. Lawrence tied the game on McKee's extra-man goal 25 seconds into the second quarter. The Red Dragons, however, rattled off the next four goals and never trailed.

The Red Dragons led 7-3 at halftime and the teams each scored once in the third quarter. The Saints pulled to within 8-5 on a Mike Long (Princeton, NJ/The Hun School) goal with 13:44 left, but two Felice extra-man goals over the next three minutes gave Cortland a 10-5 edge. St. Lawrence got a goal back with 7:20 left, but Felice tallied with the Red Dragons down a man to extend the lead to 11-6 with 5:57 on the clock.

St. Lawrence made one final push on goals by Andy Centauro (Sudbury, MA/Lincoln-Sudbury) with 5:37 left and Willie Lapinski (Canton/Hugh C. Williams) with 4:58 left to draw within 11-8. Cortland, however, won the ensuing faceoff and eventually netted the final two goals – an Adam Hyde (West Seneca/West Seneca East) tally with 4:07 left and a Felice marker, set up by Simensky, with 3:38 remaining.

Cortland held a 39-29 shot advantage and won 13-of-23 faceoffs, all by junior Josh Cittadino (Baldwin). The game featured 17 penalties, including 11 whistled against St. Lawrence. Cortland finished 2-for-9 and St. Lawrence was 1-for-6 on extra-man opportunities, with the Saints successfully killing off a three-man Cortland advantage at one point early in the third quarter.

Team 1-2-3-4=Final
Cortland (13-5) 2-5-1-5=13
St. Lawrence (14-2) 1-2-1-4=8

Scoring (Goals-Assists):

Cortland: Mike Felice 5-1, Ryan Simensky 2-3, Billy Fuchs 2-1, Ryan Heath 1-4, Adam Hyde 1-0, Joey Morgan 1-0, Kyle Simensky 1-0, Kevin Kliszczewicz 0-1
St. Lawrence: Will McKee 2-0, Kevin Russell 1-1, Nick Mastine 1-0, Mike Long 1-0, Kyle Benton 1-0, Willie Lapinski 1-0, Andy Centauro 1-0, Peter Carroll 0-3

Goalkeepers:
Cortland: Michael Robinson, 7 saves (8 GA in 60:00)
St. Lawrence: Justin Demuth, 10 saves (13 GA in 60:00)

Shots: Cortland 39, St. Lawrence 29
Ground Balls: Cortland 30, St. Lawrence 25
Clears: St. Lawrence 16-of-19, Cortland 10-of-13
Faceoffs Won: Cortland 13, St. Lawrence 10
Penalties: St. Lawrence 11-9:30, Cortland 6-4:00
Extra-Man Offense: Cortland 2-9, St. Lawrence 1-6

2007-05-12