Cortland State overcame an early deficit and staved off a late Gettysburg flurry to win the Division III Men’s Lacrosse Championship, 9-7, Sunday at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts.

Most outstanding player Brian Misiaszeck led the Red Dragons with five goals, giving coach Steve Beville his 200th career victory.

Beville said Misiaszeck’s performance in the title game highlighted the effort he put forth all season.

“He played outstandin,” Beville said. “There’s a reason he was selected as the most outstanding player of the game today, because his performance was just that. It’s been like that all year for us – pick your poison.”

Early in the game, the Bullets looked as though they might slay the fourth-ranked Red Dragons, scoring first and closing the first quarter with a 4-2 lead. But Cortland State’s defense held strong for the next two quarters, keeping Gettysburg from finding the net.

Goaltender Matt Hipenbecker, tallying 10 saves in the championship game (seven in the fourth quarter alone) and 40 in the tournament, credited the second-quarter defense with turning the momentum toward Cortland State.

“We stepped it up (in the second quarter),” Hipenbecker said. “We started talking and causing turnovers. When you know when the first, second and third slide is going to be, you can go push out and be aggressive.”

The Dragons’ offense picked up the pace, too, going on a 7-0 run over the two middle periods. As the final quarter opened, the score stood at 9-4 in Cortland State’s favor.

But Gettysburg wasn’t ready to pack it in, scoring at 10:21 and again at 4:09 to get within three. A fast break in the final minute resulted in another goal for the Bullets. Gettysburg won the final faceoff but ran out of time, and Cortland State won its second title in four years.

“I’m really proud of my team,” said Gettysburgh head coach Hank Janczyk. “It was looking pretty grim for us after that third period. I thought we really played tough in the fourth period. I give Cortland a lot of credit.

“In the last eight or nine minutes we really had some great opportunities. We didn’t hit, and they hit in the third period, and that seems to be the story of the game.”

Championship game

Gettysburg                  4          0          0          3 − 7

Cortland State             2          2          5          0 − 9

Cortland State scoring: Brandon Misiaszek 5, Brian Krol 2, Joey Morgan, Mike Tota.

Gettysburg scoring: Kyle McGrath 2, Zach Pucci 2, Joe Brody , Tom O’Donnell, Josh Reichert.

Saves: Matt Hipenbecker (Cortland State) 10, Zach Furshman (Gettysburg) 12.