By: Brayden Peters
BROCKPORT, N.Y. - The Brockport Golden Eagles fell in a back-and-forth battle with Cortland, 11-10. The Askin brothers were on fire in the game for Brockport and goalie Gavin Miller made Cortland work their tails off to get the win.
Nick Askin finished the day with three goals for three points while his brother, Nate Askin, recorded two goals and two assists. Miller ended the day with 18 saves and a 62.1 save percentage.
“I thought I played good, but I really got to give it to my team,” Miller said. “You play that game 10 times, you win five times. I’m only 10 percent of that game.”
Brockport got into an early rhythm in the first quarter. Their offense applied heavy pressure on Cortland and Brockport successfully got shots off. However, the Red Dragons buried two goals in seven seconds thanks to Stefan Swedlund.
This didn’t slow down Brockport as Nick Askin ripped a righthanded sidearm shot past Cortland goalie Travis Wagner to put one on the board. With his 39th goal of the season, he now has the record for the most goals in a season in Brockport history. Askin feels like he couldn’t have broken the record alone.
“Credit to my teammates, finding me the open looks,” Askin said. “I think coming here from Lake Erie was really a different experience. I’m really grateful to have such wonderful teammates to welcome me, give me the ball and play team lacrosse.”
The goal brought life to the whole Golden Eagles squad, as the defense began to hold their ground. They caused a couple of turnovers and prevented Cortland from moving toward the crease.
Askin then stung the top left corner of the net to tie the game up at 2 a piece. With only 48.6 seconds left in the quarter, Garrett Smith broke the tie for Brockport when he scored with a bounce shot.
Cortland didn’t take too kindly to Brockport’s three unanswered goals in the first quarter. They went on a three-goal run to start the second quarter, thanks to Caden Yancey recording two goals and Swedlund recording Cortland’s fifth of the game.
Just as Cortland began to find their stride, Nate Askin dodged two defenders to then score up top off of a lefthanded sidearm shot. Cortland’s offense then went quiet, especially due to turnover issues from bad passing. Not only that, but Miller made numerous saves up close and stayed strong in net.
Brockport continued to ride their wave of momentum. Logan Postel stung the top right corner of the net with a righthanded sidearm shot, giving Brockport a 6-5 lead. The Red Dragons responded quickly with Klay Stuver scoring a righthanded sidearm shot on the run with three seconds left in the half. Miller ended the half with 11 saves and a 64.7 save percentage.
Cortland’s offense regained their footing in the third quarter. Yancey completed his hat trick and Sam Rothman scored to give Cortland an 8-6 lead. The Red Dragons’ defense shut down Brockport’s offense in the quarter, not giving up any goals. This was also thanks to solid goalie play from Wagner, who had 14 saves and a 70.0 save percentage by the end of the quarter.
Rothman opened the fourth quarter for the Red Dragons by burying a shot top left corner of the net, giving them a 9-6 lead. It was the biggest lead that any team had in the game.
Snatching Cortland's momentum, Brockport scored four unanswered goals, giving them a 10-9 lead. However, the Red Dragons came up clutch in the end with two unanswered goals that secured the win in the final minutes of the game.
Although the Golden Eagles fell, their head coach Colin Cornaire saw light in his team's output.
“We’re just super proud of the fact that we finally played a full 60 [minutes],” Cornaire said. “I think first time all season, we can legitimately say that.”
Brockport will next suit up this Wednesday to host the Utica Pioneers. The first face-off is scheduled for 4 p.m.