CORTLAND, N.Y. – The Cabrini men's lacrosse team rallied from a 15-6 third quarter deficit, scoring eight of the game's final nine goals, but it wasn't enough as the Cavaliers suffered a 16-14 loss at SUNY Cortland this afternoon.  

The loss marked the third straight for the No. 7 Blue and White, dropping the team to 5-3 on the season. Today's defeat also sends Cabrini to its first three game losing streak since 2005, when it dropped its first three games to open the season.

Five Cavaliers marked the scoring column today, with three tallying four goals each.  Freshmen Jordan Krug and Matt LoParo led the way with seven points each, both pairing four goals and three assists.  Fellow rookie
Timmy Brooks matched his classmates with four goals.  Senior Kyle Bush added a goal and two helpers, while junior Evan Downey tallied a goal and an assist.

Senior faceoff specialist Chris Schneekloth won 10 of his 24 faceoff chances and scooped a team high five ground balls, one more than LoParo, Brooks and fellow senior Matt Ward.  Freshman Riley White recorded his third start in the Cavaliers' cage and recorded 10 saves.

The Cavaliers took advantage of the game's first penalty, a Cortland push game Cabrini a man-up just eight seconds into the action.  The Blue and White took advantage, as Krug found Brooks 34 seconds into the game.

The lead was short lived, as Cortland netted the next seven goals, building a 7-1 lead at the 13:20 mark of the second quarter.  Downey converted a pass from Bush less than a minute later to break the Red Dragon's scoring run.  LoParo hit Brooks for another man-up goal with 9:43 left in the opening half.

Cortland erased any Cabrini momentum in the next minute of play, as the Red Dragons posted four goals in a 56 second span before adding a late goal to build a game high 12-3 lead with 2:40 left in the second quarter.  The Cavaliers built a little confidence just before the break, as Krug netted an unassisted man-down goal in the final minute of the stanza.

Despite outshooting Cortland 22-21 and winning the turnover battle 8-3, Cabrini found itself in a 12-4 hole.  After losing all five first quarter faceoffs, the Red Dragons went a perfect 12-0 in the second quarter, leading to eight goals in the frame.

Cortland regained its nine goal cushion early in the third quarter before Brooks tallied a man-down goal.  Krug netted his second goal of the day three minutes later, as Ward's assist marked his first point of the season.

The Red Dragons posted two goals to regain their nine goal cushion with 6:21 left in the third quarter, when Cabrini began its comeback.  A timeout called by Blue and White head coach Steve Colfer refocused his troops. It didn't take long to pay off, as Downey hit Brooks for his fourth goal of the day just 23 seconds later.

The Cavaliers cut their deficit to 15-8 in the final two minutes of the third quarter as Krug found LoParo for a man-up goal.

A Cortland penalty in the opening seconds of the final quarter gave Cabrini another man-up chance.  Bush took advantage, posting a man-up goal, assisted by LoParo, 26 seconds into the frame.

The Cavaliers further sliced into the Cortland lead, as Krug and LoParo found the back of the net in a span of 16 second, pulling Cabrini within 15-11 with 13 minutes to play.  The Red Dragons got one of the goals back at the 12 minute mark, expanding its lead back to 16-11.    

LoParo's pass found Krug for a Cabrini goal with just south of 10 minutes to play.  The Cavaliers attempted six shots over the next eight minutes with just two coming on target.  The score remained 16-12 for nearly eight minutes, the longest scoring drought of the game.

LoParo ended the drought with 1:39 to play with an unassisted tally.  Despite another LoParo goal with 23 seconds on the clock, the nine goal, third quarter deficit proved to be too much for the Cavaliers.

The Blue and White recorded 49 shots on the day, including 27 on goal, both among the team's highest outputs of the season. Brooks, Downey, Krug and LoParo accounted for 40 of those attempts.

Cabrini's man-up group was in good form today, scoring on six of its 11 changes, including 3-5 in the fourth quarter.

Zach Hopps led Cortland (3-4) with seven goals and two assists, while Devin Phelps and T.J. deLyra added three goals each.  Joe Scalise posted 13 saves in the Red Dragons' cage, while Pat Baldwin went 21-32 at the faceoff spot and secured 13 ground balls.

The Cavaliers will begin their run for a 16th consecutive Colonial States Athletic Conference title, as they open league play on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. with a visit from Neumann University (1-4, 0-0 CSAC).