BEVERLY — The No. 14/14 nationally ranked Endicott football team fell to No. 11/13 Cortland, 23-17, in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday afternoon at Hempstead Stadium.
Shane Aylward (Tewksbury) highlighted the Gulls’ offense with five catches for 119 yards (23.8 yards per catch) and two touchdowns.
The senior wideout evened the score at 7-7 in the first quarter with a 23-yard TD catch at the 7:02 mark and brought the Gulls within three points (20-17) late in the third (1:46) via a 69-yard score
Endicott also saw Ryan Smith (Glastonbury, Conn.) bury a 42-yard field goal at the end of the first half to cut the Gulls’ deficit to 17-10 at the break.
Cortland controlled the majority of possession in the contest, finishing with a 40:41 to 19:19 margin in the category.
The Red Dragons also were efficient on third down (10-for-17, 59%) and took advantage of three turnovers by Endicott (two fumbles lost, one interception) to secure the victory.
Defensively, the Gulls held the No. 3 ranked scoring offense in Division III to a season-low in points (23) and their second-lowest total offense output this season (417 yards, ranked No. 5 in D3 in total offense — 499.6 yards per game | 414 yards season-low vs. Delaware Valley).
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- Endicott nearly completed the comeback victory with a 7-play, 47-yard drive with 1:53 to play, but Cortland avoided the setback by fending off a passing play from its own 11-yard line as time expired
- The Red Dragons are 2-0 all-time against Endicott (11/20/2010, W, 49, 35, NCAA First Round).
- Ismar Kandic (Cromwell, Conn.) paced the defense with a career-high 11 tackles (8 solo), 0.5 sacks, 1.5 tackles for a loss, one forced fumble (first career), and a pass breakup.
- Jackson DeAngelo (North Reading) stuffed the stat sheet with nine tackles (5 solo), 1.5 sacks, 1.5 tackles for a loss, one forced fumble (third career), and a quarterback hurry.
- Aylward produced his 16th and 17th career receiving touchdown today (second all-time in program history).
- Cortland improved to 6-0 on the road this season.
WHAT’S NEXT
No. 11/13 Cortland (10-1) will play Grove City in the second round of the NCAA Tournament next Saturday (time/place TBD). No. 14/14 Endicott sees its 2023 season come to a close at 9-2 overall.
