SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Juniors Billy Fuchs (Merrick, NY) and Ryan Heath (Baldwinsville, NY) each had three goals and an assist to lead No. 12 SUNY Cortland to a long rain delayed 12-10 victory over No. 3 Western New England College Wednesday night (May 16) in a hard-hitting quarterfinal round game of the NCAA Division III Men's Lacrosse Championship.

The game started almost 30 minutes late (at 4:00 p.m.) because of bad weather and then was suspended at 4:18 p.m. with Cortland leading 2-1 late in the opening quarter when heavy rain and lightning hit the Springfield area. The game didn't resume until 7:40 p.m.

Cortland, the defending national champion, dominated the early-going taking a 4-1 lead after the first stanza. The Red Dragons upped their margin to 6-1 following their fifth straight goal when Fuchs hit the back of the net at the 10:39 mark of the second quarter. The Golden Bears tallied three straight times to get within two, but the visitors scored three goals in the final 2:22 for a 9-4 lead at intermission.

Health scored two of his goals in the final 2:20 of the third period to give his team a comfortable 12-6 margin.

Western New England College made a dramatic comeback with four goals in the final 7:32 of the period, two coming from junior Tim Heffernan (Glastonbury, CT). He finished with three goals along with senior Adam Cherry (Westfield, MA) and junior Jon Hayes (Waltham, MA). Sophomore Scott Kukis (Sudbury, MA) scored the first goal for the Golden Bears that tied the game at 8:13 of the first period. Junior goalie Chris Body (Newtown, CT) finished with 12 saves.

Senior Mike Felice (Baldwinsville, NY) added two goals and an assist for the Red Dragons while junior Adam Hyde (West Seneca, NY) and sophomore Joey Morgan (Putnam Valley, NY) each netted a pair of goals. Sophomore goalie Michael Robinson (Alexandria, VA) stopped 10 shots.

Cortland will meet No. 6 Wesleyan (a 9-6 winner over No. 4 Nazareth) in the national semifinals Sunday (May 27) in Middletown, Connecticut.

This was the first loss of the season Western New England College who completed the best season in the program's 26-year history with a 17-1 mark.

Scoring Summary
Cortland (14-5) 4 5 3 0 - 12
WNEC  (17-1)    1 3 2 4 - 10
 
Cortland State Red Dragons
Goals: Ryan Heath 3, Billy Fuchs 3, Mike Felice 2, Adam Hyde 2, Joey Morgan 2
Assists: Ryan Simensky 2, Mike Felice, Billy Fuchs, Ryan Heath, Cody Hoyt
Saves: Michael Robinson 10
 
Western New England College Golden Bears
Goals: Adam Cherry 3, Tim Heffernan 3, Jon Hayes 3, Scott Kukis
Assists: Zack Sondrini 2, Mike Kelly
Saves: Chris Body 12
 
SHOTS BY PERIOD       1   2   3   4  Total
SUNY Cortland         8  10   8   3    29
W. New England Coll.  5  10   9  16    40
 
SAVES BY PERIOD       1   2   3   4  Total
SUNY Cortland         3   3   2   2    10
W. New England Coll.  2   4   4   2    12
 
GROUND BALLS BY PRD   1   2   3   4  Total
SUNY Cortland         9   9   9   6    33
W. New England Coll.  6  14  11  11    42
 
FACE-OFFS BY PRD       1    2    3    4   Total
SUNY Cortland         4-6  5-9  2-6  2-5  13-26
W. New England Coll.  2-6  4-9  4-6  3-5  13-26
 
CLEARS BY PERIOD       1    2    3    4   Total
SUNY Cortland         5-5  2-4  4-4  5-6  16-19
W. New England Coll.  4-4  4-5  6-7  4-6  18-22
 
EXTRA-MAN OPPS         1    2    3    4   Total
SUNY Cortland         0-0  1-1  0-0  0-0   1-1
W. New England Coll.  0-2  0-1  0-0  1-3   1-6

2007-05-17