CORTLAND, NY – The Alfred University Saxons (5-1, Empire 8 3-1) were stunned in overtime at Cortland, 20-17, following an interception inside the end zone by the Red Dragons on Saturday.
 
Lined up on the Cortland 20-yard line on third and 15 in overtime, sophomore Casey Boston (Brooklyn, NY/Midwood) dropped back and sent a fade route pass into the end zone. However, the 50-50 ball was yanked down by Cortland's Dezmund Hunter to end the game and give the AU its first regular season loss since November 14, 2015.
 
The Saxons streak ends tied for the most consecutive regular season wins in program history (16). They matched the record set from 1970-1972, including the final two games from 1970, all eight games in 1971 and the first six games of 1972.
 
AU was the first team on the board when senior Maleke Fuentes (Olean, NY/Olean) found pay dirt with 8:54 to go in the first quarter from 18 yards out. The play came on the Saxons' first possession of the game after taking possession of the ball on their own 32-yard line. The drive lasted 4:54 while AU traveled 68 yards on nine plays.
 
The Red Dragons answered back on their next possession. They started their drive on their own 19-yard line. The Saxons had the Red Dragons held up third and three to go, but Zach Tripodi rushed up the middle to get Cortland to the 37-yard line to keep the drive alive. After 15 plays and 6:07 of possession, the Red Dragons finally completed their 81-yard drive and put their first six points on the board when quarterback Steven Ferreira found Jason Carlock on near the flag. They knotted the game up when Nick Mongelli converted the PAT.
 
Cortland took the lead on their next possession in the second quarter. They were able to march down the field and give Mongelli the opportunity to put it through the uprights from 20 yards out to take the lead for the first time in the game.
 
The Saxons capitalized and tied the game following a key interception by sophomore Nick Milgate (Hilton, NY/Hilton), marking his third interception in four games. AU took over on their own 39 and battled its way to the Cortland 25-yard line. Senior Trevor Monk (Liverpool, NY/Liverpool) cashed in on a 42-yard field goal, marking his second field goal from over 40 yards in 2017. The game remained tied at the intermission, 10-10.
 
AU took the lead again on its first possession of the second half when Boston rolled out of the pocket and found senior tight end Jake Toomey (Malta, NY/Ballston Spa) in the back of the end zone. Toomey collected the ball and dragged his foot as he was hit out of bounds, scoring his first career collegiate touchdown. The Saxons jumped out ahead, 17-10, with 7:09 to go in the third quarter.
 
The Red Dragons threatened on two separate occasions with field goal attempts, but were unsuccessful as the Saxons maintained their lead into the fourth quarter.
 
However, Cortland took over possession with 5:49 to go in the game and favorable field position. Johnnie Akins set the tempo on the drive's first play, rushing for 23 yards. He followed that play with another five-yard rush before being taken down by junior linebacker Cole Reed (Gratz, PA/Upper Dauphin Area). AU had Cortland on the ropes at 3^rd and 12 on the 30-yard line, but Ferreira dashed out of the pocket for 16 yards and a first down, giving the Red Dragons life. One play later, Ferreira connected with Angelo Foster and got the ball to the one-yard line. Akins finished off the drive with his fourth touchdown of the season. Mangelli hit the PAT to secure the tie, 17-17.
 
Both teams had a possession at the end of regulation, but neither was able to capitalize on the opportunity as the game continued on into overtime.
 
The Red Dragons took the first possession in overtime, starting on the AU 25-yard line. Ferreira rattled off a series of rushes, accumulating a total of 22 yards. Placekicker William Holscher capped off the drive with his second field goal of the afternoon from 20 yards out.
 
AU had the opening to win the game with a touchdown, starting on the Cortland 25-yard line. The Saxons took to the ground with a one-two punch from first-year Nas Smith (Auburn, NY/Auburn) and Fuentes earning a first down on the Cortland 11-yard line. Boston was sacked on second and nine, setting the Saxons up with a long third-down. The game came to a close when Cortland intercepted the ball in the end zone. The Red Dragons secured their fourth win of the 2017 season and handed the Saxons their first loss of the year.
 
AU accumulated a total of 279 yards of offense and allowed 359 yards to Cortland on the day. Fuentes led the Saxons with 113 yards on 23 rush attempts. Smith added in 33 yards on 13 attempts. Cortland's Akins and Ferreira set the pace on the ground for the Red Dragons with 102 and 53 yards rushing, respectively.
 
Ferreira had a game-high 196 yards passing, while Boston threw for 130 yards on 10-of-18 attempts. Ferreira and Boston both threw for a TD, each. Senior wideout, Rodney Etienne (Brooklyn, NY/Midwood), led the Saxon receiving corps with 55 yards; Alex Wasserman had 65 yards receiving to pace the Red Dragons.
 
Senior linebacker, A.J. Licata (Lake View, NY/Frontier), led AU with 11 tackles in the game, surpassing Wil Green '96 (359), with 364 total tackles in his career. He currently ranks second all-time at AU, trailing only Nick Clark '11, with 377 career tackles. Reed added 11 tackles while first-year Raeqwon Greer (Buffalo, NY/Canisius), junior Eric Graham (Cheektowaga, NY/Maryvale) and Milgate chipped in with eight, six and six tackles, respectively. Milgate had AU's sole interception on the day.
 
Senior Ty Timmerman (Corning, NY/Corning East), sophomore Geno Iozzino (Goshen, NY) and senior Toby Hale (Swampscott, MA/Swampscott) notched four sacks as a unit, with Timmerman leading the bunch with two sacks on the day.
 
Kyle Richard and Mark DeLuise led the Red Dragons with 13 and 12 tackles, respectively. Dylan Ferrari had a team-high two sacks and a tackle for a loss. Hunter and D'Monte Woody raked in interceptions on the day.
 
The Saxons look to rebound next Saturday at home when they host RPI at 1PM in Yunevich Stadium.