Gallant comeback by Golden Bears falls just short

CORTLAND, N.Y. - Senior Joey Morgan (Putnam Valley, NY) scored the game-winner with 7:45 remaining as No. 4 Cortland edged No. 9 Western New England College 6-5 in a quarterfinal round game of the 2009 NCAA Division III Men's Lacrosse Championship Wednesday afternoon (May 13).

The Golden Bears trailed 5-0 late in the second quarter before scoring five straight times to tie the contest.

Cortland took a 5-3 advantage into the final period before junior Tim Santye (Skillman, NJ) fired home a shot with an assist from sophomore Colin Houlihan (Yorktown Heights, NY) at the 13:18 mark.

Thirty-seven seconds later, sophomore Marty O'Brien (West Springfield, MA) knotted the game with an assist from senior Scott Kukis (Sudbury, MA).

The Red Dragons started strong using goals by sophomore Chris DeLuca (Sayville, NY) and freshman Mike Tota (Webster, NY) to take a 2-0 lead after the opening 15 minutes.

DeLuca tallied his second goal just 21 seconds into the second period followed by a shot by senior Cody Hoyt (Babylon, NY) with 9:57 remaining before intermission.

Freshman Jack Kennedy (Camllus, NY) gave the Red Dragons a 5-0 lead with only his second goal of the season with three minutes left until halftime.

Senior Brody Savoie (Wilbraham, MA) finally put Western New England College on the board with 1:06 left before the break. He then tallied two more times in the third period to set the stage for the thrilling final quarter.

Both goalies were sensational with WNEC freshman Brewster Knowlton (Somers, CT) compiling 17 saves (his second highest total of the season) and senior Matt Hipenbecker (Mountain Lakes, NY) stopping a career high 14 shots for the hosts, including one by Savoie with 15 seconds left with the Golden Bears down two players.

Western New England College, which dropped a 13-12 overtime decision at Ithaca in last year's quarterfinal battle, ends its season with an outstanding 17-3 record (that tied the school record for wins).

Cortland earlier defeated the Golden Bears 15-7 in the season opener on February 28 in Cross River, New York.

The Red Dragons (17-2) will host No. 7 Middlebury (a 13-5 winner over No. 10 Wesleyan) on Sunday (May 17) in a semifinal contest.