CORTLAND, N.Y. – While there are rumblings of another high-profile fight somewhere else in the United States on Saturday, the only races the Plattsburgh State men's lacrosse team is concerning itself with is Plattsburgh/Cortland III.

For the third time in as many seasons, the Cardinals (13-5) and Red Dragons (13-4) will duke it out on the pitch in the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) Men's Lacrosse Championship Tournament finals.

A win for the Cardinals would signify a number of program firsts – a first-ever NCAA Tournament berth, the program's first-ever conference crown – but in order to gain those firsts the Cardinals must take down SUNY Cortland for the first time ever.

Tickets prices have been set by the SUNYAC and are $6.00 for general admission and $3.00 for children ages 5-12. All Children ages four and under will be admitted for free as will all SUNY students with a student ID card. Those students who do not have a valid student ID will be charged the general admission rate. Tickets will be available for purchase at the SUNY Cortland Stadium Complex beginning at 2:30 p.m. Saturday afternoon.

Those who are unable to make the trip to Cortland can follow all the SUNYAC Championship Tournament finals action via live statistical coverage and live video coverage provided by the SUNY Cortland sports information department. The links for the aforementioned multimedia services can be found below.

Live stats – Live video

Plattsburgh State – No. 2 Seed
Roster – 2015 Schedule/Results – 2015 Statistics
A bitter North Country rivalry in the semifinal round of the SUNYAC Championship Tournament played out in the favor of Plattsburgh State for the second-straight year as Brendan Damm amassed three goals and three assists to lead a well-balanced Cardinal attack in a 15-7 win over SUNY Potsdam on Wednesday afternoon.

Stopping Damm has been a task that no team has been up to just yet as the junior out of Montauk, N.Y., has distinguished himself as one of the premier players in the SUNYAC as well as the nation. With 82 points (50 goals and 32 assists), Damm sits atop the seven-team SUNYAC in terms of goals, goals per game (2.78), and points per game (4.56).

The Cardinals, though, are far from just a one man band as they boast a multitude of goal-producing options up and down their roster. Final-year man Jack Felter ranks second only to Damm on the team and in the SUNYAC with 46 goals.

With 23 goals and the second-highest assist total in the SUNYAC (33), senior James Read sits second among the Plattsburgh State ranks with 56 total points. Freshman attacker Ryan Hubbard is currently three points away from being the fourth 50-point man in the Cardinals' lineup.

Hailing from Aquabogue, N.Y., Hubbard slung in three goals in Plattsburgh State's semifinal win over SUNY Potsdam and has totaled 47 points on 36 goals and 11 helpers.

Plattsburgh State's hopes in goal have hinged entirely on the Floral Park, N.Y., junior Matt Massaria. Affectionately known as "Matty Ice", the three-time SUNYAC Goalie of the Week man has spent 970:51 stationed between the pipes and has put up a record of 13-5 which included a goals against average of 8.41.

Joey Kromer has taken on – and more often than not beaten – any adversary he has come across in the face off circle. A winner of 244 of his 425 (.574) face off opportunities, Kromer has scooped up a team-high 118 ground balls.

Peter Johann and Andrew Sofromiou stand tall for the Cardinals on defense and have combined to cause 32 turnovers and nab 81 ground balls. Also helping to shore up the Cardinals' back line is Andy Krolczyk (14 caused turnovers, 37 ground balls) and Joey Duckham (10 caused turnovers, 30 ground balls).

No. 11 SUNY Cortland – No. 1 Seed
Roster – 2015 Schedule/Results – 2015 Statistics
Since the inception of the SUNYAC Men's Lacrosse Championship Tournament in 2002, the Red Dragons have emerged as the conference championships on nine out of a possible 11 occasions. That includes a seven-year reign at the top of the league, but one of the only teams to put a scare in SUNY Cortland during that span has been Plattsburgh State.

In order to reach the finals, SUNY Cortland made relatively short work of number-four seed Oneonta State in the semifinal round of the conference tournament. The battle between the Red Dragons saw Cortland open up a 13-1 lead at the half before going on to score a 21-5 win over Oneonta.

The Cardinals pushed the Red Dragons to the brink in the 2014 championship game before Cortland ultimately won an 11-10 decision to claim the program's 22^nd league crown. 2015's regular season meeting between the two squads saw the Red Dragons jump out to an 8-0 lead en route to a 15-9 victory over the Cardinals in Plattsburgh.

Leading the charge for the No. 11-ranked team in NCAA Division III lacrosse is Zach Hopps who has started in all but one of the Red Dragons' 2015 confrontations. The junior out of Akwesasne, N.Y., has racked up 33 goals and 31 assists for 64 points and is second only to Damm in points per game (3.76) when stacked up against all other SUNYAC student-athletes.

Behind Hopps is a well-balanced who's who of offense producing options for the Red Dragons including the likes of Mike Cantelli (24-14=38) and Matt Rakoczy (25-6=31). All told, six Cortland players have amassed 20 or more points and that includes Benjamin Dunlavey (26-2=28) who pumped in four goals during the Red Dragons' regular season triumph against Plattsburgh State.

Anchoring the Red Dragons' defensive unit is Scott Tota who has spent 859:15 protecting the mouth of the goal. In that time, Tota has constructed a record of 13-3 and has surrendered a SUNYAC-low 8.17 goals per game.

Pat Baldwin handles faceoff duties for the Red Dragons, and has proven to be no slouch in that department. Having won 232 of his 328 face offs, Baldwin's win percentage of .707 has led to him scooping up a SUNYAC-best 7.59 ground balls per tilt.