TAMPA, Fla. – Chris Albanese '17 scored the game-winning goal at the 3:07 mark of overtime to spark the fourth-ranked Amherst College men's lacrosse team to a thrilling, 13-12 victory over No. 20 SUNY Cortland Friday afternoon at the Naimoli Athletic Complex in Tampa, Fla.

RECORDS
Amherst (4-1)
SUNY Cortland (1-4)

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Amherst used a five-goal first quarter to take a 5-2 lead, and held an 8-4 advantage at intermission.
• After both teams scored twice in the third period, to make it 10-6, Cortland rallied for six straight goals to take a 12-10 lead with 5:34 to play.
• Goals by Charlie Gill '16 and Kane Haffey '16 (both assisted by Quinn Moroney '16), tied the game at 12-12 forcing overtime.
• In the extra stanza, Albanese struck for his third of the game with what stood as the game-winner 3:07 into the overtime to give Amherst a thrilling victory.

FIRST HALF HIGHLIGHTS

• Amherst scored the first three goals of the first quarter as Albanese fired in a man-up goal from Haffey at the 13:57 mark, before Connor Crump '16 added an unassisted strike two minutes later. A goal by Evan Wolf '19 following a dish from Rob Butko '16 gave the Purple & White a 3-0 lead.
• Cortland answered with back-to-back goals from Conner Johnston and Devin Phelps to make it 3-2 with 8:46 left in the stanza.
• Brett Inglesby '18 and Albanese capitalized on a pair of nice feeds from Moroney to make it 5-2 after 15 minutes of play.
• The second quarter saw Joey Panariello score at the 10:42 mark before Dylan Park '16 returned the favor for Amherst less than two minutes later.
• T.J. deLyra pulled the Red Dragons back to within two (6-4) with 7:20 on the clock.
• The Purple & White closed out the half on a strong note as Butko found the back of the net on a pass from Ian Kadish '18, before Park fired in a goal with just one second left in the half to set the score at 8-4 after 30 minutes of action.

SECOND HALF HIGHLIGHTS

• The third frame saw Cortland strike twice early as Nate Beresovoy and Phelps each tallied a marker, assisted by Corey Becker and Zach Hopps respectively.
• A man-up goal by Gill, followed by an unassisted scored by Andrew Ford '19 made it 10-6 with 10:06 left in the period which is how it would remain heading to the fourth quarter.
• In the fourth, the Red Dragons exploded for six straight goals as Phelps scored a trio of goals, while Ryan Mahon, deLyra, and Nick Bonitatibus each collected a goal to give Cortland a 12-10 advantage with 5:35 to play in regulation.
• Another goal by Gill on the man-advantage, followed by a Haffey score with 2:21 to play tied the game at 12-12 and forced an extra stanza.

OVERTIME HIGHLIGHTS

• At the 3:07 mark of the first overtime, Albanese fired in his third goal of the game to lift Amherst to a thrilling, 13-12 victory.

BY THE NUMBERS

• Ford led Amherst with seven ground balls, while Crump added five pickups. Ryan Cassidy '16 led the defensive efforts with four caused turnovers.
• Moroney finished with six assists, while Park added five shots on goal. Between the pipes, Cody Tranbarger '17 made 14 saves including six in the third period.
• Pat Baldwin led Cortland with eight ground balls, while Joe Scalise made 18 stops between the posts.

UP NEXT

• Amherst returns to action Tuesday, March 22 against non-conference foe Endicott College at 7 p.m. in Beverly, Mass.