Playing under the lights on a cold Wednesday evening in Watertown, the Tompkins Cortland Community College lacrosse team put together a dominating performance, beating Jefferson Community College 15-2. The win improves the Panthers to 2-1 overall and in Region III and 2-0 in the Mid-State Athletic Conference. Jefferson drops to 0-2 overall and 0-1 in both Region III and the MSAC.
The Panthers controlled the game from the opening faceoff, jumping to a 3-0 lead in the first quarter and stretching it to 6-1 at halftime. The spread continued to grow after halftime, standing at 10-2 after three quarters before the Panthers outscored the Cannoneers 5-0 in the fourth for the final margin. Jack Collmer (Vernon/Vernon-Verona-Sherrill) paced the attacked with five goals. Derek Sammartino (Saddle Brook, N.J./Pascack Hills H.S.) had 3 goals while Ayden Muhs (Hampton Bays/Hampton Bays H.S.), Matthew Bisono (Deer Park/Deer Park H.S.), and Anthony Irizarry (Middletown/Middletown H.S.) each had two goals. Ian Kilts (Dryden/Dryden H.S.) netted the final goal of the game for the Panthers.
As productive as the offense was, the defense was just as overpowering. Anchored by sophomores Jonathon Phillips (Cortland/Cortland H.S.), Bridger Carreau (Marietta, Ga./Lassiter H.S.), and Connor O'Brien (Dryden/Dryden H.S.), the defense made life tough for the Cannoneers on the few occasions they possessed the ball in their offensive end of the field. Bryan Iannello (Dryden/Dryden H.S.) was the beneficiary in goal, recording nine saves for his second win of the season.
The Panthers are now off for a week before returning home to take on Hudson Valley Community College on Wednesday, March 28. The team had hoped to play at Mercyhurst North East this weekend, but that game has already been postponed due to poor field conditions.