SUNY Cortland Sport Clubs

October 24, 2009
Binghamton, NY

On Saturday October 24th Club Swimming traveled to Binghamton University to compete in a tri-meet along with Binghamton Club Swimming and Ithaca College Club Swimming. Although the hosts did not keep score Club Swimming had an awesome time and had some personal best records!

Cortland Club Swimming captured 1st place in all three relays. The 200-medley relay comprised of Matt Yates, Nick Kaiser, Alison Charlebois, and Ryan Siebert grabbed first place in a record time of 1:59.7 shortly followed by Ithaca. The 200 freestyle relay took first with a time of 1:48.8 in many thanks to Matt Yates, Kyle Luqman, Kurt Kaasman, and Laura Cantori. Finally the 400 freestyle relay of Ryan Siebert, Jon Paladini, Kurt Kaasman, and Matt Yates took first in a heated battle with Binghamton in a time of 3:56.4.

Other notable top finishes was Alison Charlebois in the 100 IM in a time of 1:12.5, Matt Yates in the 50 yard freestyle in a time of 22.7, Ryan Siebert in the 100 yard freestyle in a time of 58.0. Also Club Swimming would like to congratulate Laura Cantori for a 4th place finish in the 200 freestyle in a time of 2:25.1 and Kurt Kaasman with a 2nd place finish in the 100 yard freestyle in a time of 58.5.

Personal records were set by Mercedes Cozens (32.7), Chris Fusco (29.2), Brendan Ross (28.6), and Meghan Hehir (39.2) in the 50-yard freestyle. Club Swimming would like to recognize Ryan Siebert (58.0) and Kurt Kaasman (58.5) for setting personal records in the 100 yard freestyle and Mariel Lariosa (1:47.7) in the 100 yard breaststroke.

Many thanks to Binghamton for hosting the meet and a special thank you to our club treasurer Nick LaFera for keeping track of all the times. All in all SUNY Cortland Club Swimming had a fantastic time and are certainly looking forward to their next meet against SUNY New Paltz.

October 6, 2009
Cortland, NY

On Tuesday evening, October 6th, the Cortland State red dragons soccer team had a league match under the lights against Cornell’s club team. This was a match up of two top teams in the league standings and the winner of this match very well could be the winner of the league. With a record of 1-1-1, SUNY Cortland sat right behind Cornell in the standings prior to this match. The first half of play was a back and forth affair, Cornell appeared to be keeping good possession of the ball while Cortland had created a few chances of their own. Around the 20th minute of play, Cortland was awarded a corner kick down the left side of the field. Tom Baker lined up the kick and swung the ball into the far post position of the goal. The ball was just out of the Cornell goal keepers reach and was sent into the back of the net by Peter Ostrander on a sliding volley. The score now was in favor of Cortland 1-0 and seemed to ignite their play as well. With momentum on their side Cortland began to take control for the remainder of the half but didn’t finish on the numerous chances the had created. With the half winding down, Cornell finished on one of their opportunities inside the box and tied the game at 1-1.

A disappointing end to a well played first half didn’t stop the Cortland players from coming back and playing a solid 2nd half. At the 55th minute, Ostrander struck again when he finished a quick throw-in pass from Brendan Wells. This pass lead Ostrander to a break away with the Cornell keeper and he calmly put the ball into the back of the net to break the tie at 2-1. Later, in the 65th minute, Tom Baker got into the action for Cortland when he scored on a 18 yard shot that deflected into the goal and gave Cortland a 3-1 lead.  The second half was controlled by SUNY Cortland but Cornell gave a comeback effort near the end of the match. With 10 minutes remaining, Cornell again took advantage of their opportunity and drilled a shot into the back of the net slimming the lead to 3-2. The last 10 minutes of the game was spent on Cortland’s half of the field as Cornell forced pressure on its defense. The threatening attacks of Cornell weren’t enough as they came up short and the game ended at 3-2 giving Cortland its second win in the league. With the victory Cortland moves to 2-1-1 and with the win against Cornell boosts them into what looks to be a number one seed in the league tournament.
Box Score:
Cortland: Peter Ostrander: 2-0, Tom Baker: 1-1, Brendan Wells 0-1

written and contributed by Mike Porter

October 17, 2009
New Brunswick, NJ

The Cortland ice hockey club suffered its first loss of the season as they traveled to Rutgers University this past Saturday. It didn’t look promising when Cortland gave up two quick goals in the first period and eventually were down 4-0 at one point of the game. Down four goals going into the third period, the Red Dragons knew it was time to make an effort at a comeback. The line of Joe Laffin, Kyle Smith and Scott Miele started to take control and about two minutes into the third period, Joe Laffin netted his first of the season unassisted as he beat the goalie through the five hole. Their scoring streak didn’t last long as their iffy positional play led to another Rutgers goal to make it 5-1 to pretty much seal the deal for the Ice Knights. About five minutes after the fifth Rutgers goal, the line of Laffin, Smith and Miele struck once more as Smith gave a feed to Miele to net his first career collegiate goal.

Despite the physical play of the Red Dragons, they were unable to pull out a W and suffered their first season-opening loss in 3 years. The Red Dragons continue their run for nationals with their home opener coming up on 10/25 vs. Binghamton @ 3:30pm at Alumni Arena. All are welcome to come out to root on their Red Dragons and admission is FREE!

October 10, 2009
Binghamton, NY

The women’s lacrosse club traveled to Binghamton on Saturday to participate in the Bearcats fall tournament. The club went 4-1 on the day, earning their way to a championship appearance against Syracuse which would end in dramatic fashion. Cortland began the day with a hard-fought 3-2 win over local rival Ithaca College. AnneMarie Vitchers, Nicole Prechtl, and Brittany Gale each scored a goal for the Red Dragons in the win.

Cortland would suffer their only loss of the day to Syracuse. Audrey Anastasi, Nicole Prechtl, Lauren Jilson, and Stephanie Spirawk all added goals in a 6-4 loss to the Orange. The club responded to the loss with a 6-3 win over host club Binghamton. Vitchers netted 2 goals, while Gale, Jilson, and Anastasi chipped in with a goal apiece. Stephanie Parlow scored her first goal of the afternoon to help seal the victory for the Red Dragons and advance them to the playoffs.

In the semi-finals, Cortland used goals by Vitchers, Gale, and Michelle Simonds to defeat Binghamton and advance to the final game against Syracuse. The two teams needed overtime to decide the contest. In the extra session, Brittany Gale won a faceoff and took the ball the length of the field to score the game and tournament winning goal. Congratulations to the SUNY Cortland women’s lacrosse club!

October 3-4, 2009
Williamsport, PA

The SUNY Cortland baseball club picked up right where they left off in the spring, winning the NCBA’s Williamsport Warm-Up tournament for the second consecutive year. Click here to read the full story of the club’s march to their third tournament title in 4 years. Along with the tournament title, Cortland’s Steven Campbell and Matthew Martin were selected as the NCBA’s player and pitcher of the week, respectively.

Steven went 4-9 with a double, a home run, 5 RBIs and 2 runs scored in two games at the tournament. Matthew picked up 2 wins in 10 1/3 innings allowing just 2 unearned runs on 8 hits and 2 walks while striking out 6.

Congratulations to the SUNY Cortland baseball club for another impressive tournament victory!