Cortland Posts Second Straight Shutout, Pitcher Throws Four TD Passes in 37-0 Win at TCNJ

EWING, N.J. – Cortland's defense held The College of New Jersey to 91 yards of total offense and quarterback Dan Pitcher (Cortland) threw a career-best four touchdown passes, including three to senior Anthony Giuliano (Thornwood/Westlake), as the Red Dragons defeated the Lions, 37-0.
 
Cortland, ranked 21st nationally in Div. III by the AFCA, is 4-0 both overall and in the New Jersey Athletic Conference. The Red Dragons have posted back-to-back shutouts, the first time they've accomplished the feat since the 1989 squad shut out four straight opponents during an NCAA-record six shutout season.
 
Senior defensive tackle Lou Crispo (Eastchester) led the defense with eight tackles and junior defensive end Connor Tompkins (Ossining/Sleepy Hollow) finished with seven tackles, six solo. Two of Tompkins' tackles resulted for losses of a combined 10 yards, while Crispo made one tackle for lost yardage. Junior linebacker Tom Lewis (Elma/Iroquois) intercepted a pass in the fourth quarter.
 
Sophomore running back Justin Autera (Mahopac) scored Cortland's first two touchdowns and has 10 touchdowns in four games. He ran for a 27-yard score midway through the first quarter, followed by a 14-yard TD catch on Cortland's next possession after the Red Dragons recovered a fumble at the TCNJ 15-yard line. Autera ran for 93 yards on 15 carries.
 
Pitcher completed 13-of-21 passes for 224 yards and Giuliano caught four passes for a career-high 139 yards. Pitcher's 18-yard TD pass to Giuliano on the second play of the second quarter extended the Cortland lead to 20-0. They connected again on a 10-yard scoring pass with just six seconds left in the half and Cortland led 27-0 at the break.
 
Junior Marc Corrado (Newburgh/Newburgh Free Academy) made a 26-yard field goal with 9:49 left in the third quarter, and the Red Dragons closed the scoring on a 56-yard connection between Pitcher and Giuliano with 6:02 remaining in the third. Giuliano tied a school single-game record with his three touchdown catches. The feat was accomplished by numerous people, most recently Eric Hajnos last season at Brockport.
 
TCNJ (1-3, 1-2 NJAC) moved into Cortland territory only twice. The Lions reached the Cortland 45-yard line briefly in the second quarter, then on their next possession had their best scoring chance with a 1st-and-10 at the Red Dragon 18-yard line. However, a false start penalty and a James Lenhart (Ticonderoga) sack helped lead to a missed 37-yard field goal.
 
Cortland finished the day with 465 yards of total offense and averaged 6.7 yards per play. The Red Dragons converted on 9-of-15 third downs compared to 2-of-12 for the Lions.
 
Gregory Burns led TCNJ with eight tackles and a blocked point-after kick. Shawn Brown and Daniel DeCongelio made seven tackles each and William Haduch intercepted a pass.