CORTLAND, N.Y. – The nationally 17th-ranked Cortland women's lacrosse team closed the first half with seven consecutive goals and went on to hand 16th-ranked William Smith its first loss of the season, 12-9, Wednesday afternoon in non-conference action. The Red Dragons improved to 4-4 overall, while the Herons fell to 5-1.

Freshman Lindsay Abbott (South Onondaga/Onondaga Central) led the Red Dragons with four goals and an assist. Senior Danielle Torre (Massapequa) tallied three goals, freshman Jordan Miller (Liverpool) scored twice and sophomore Megan Clare (Shirley/William Floyd) added a goal and an assist. Sophomore Mallory Palmieri (Bellmore/John F. Kennedy) scored what proved to be the winning goal, sophomore Brianna Shost (Mahopac) collected a goal and senior Meghan Gallagher (Long Beach) chipped in with three assists, all in the opening half. Freshman goalie Amanda Caloia (Baldwinsville/C.W. Baker) made eight saves.

Junior Sarah Goodkind (Greenwich, CT/Millbrook School) paced the William Smith offense with four goals. Senior Michaela Parnell (Guilford, CT) scored a pair of goals and juniors Brittany Callaghan (Armonk/St. Luke's School) and Molly Fitzgerald (Sudbury, MA/Gould Academy) and sophomore Cassie Findlay (Riverside, CT/Episcopal) each scored a goal. Freshman Lucy Johnson (Short Hills, NJ/Millburn) contributed two assists. Senior goalie Rebecca Josefiak (West Seneca/West Seneca East) registered seven saves.

The Herons struck quickly for a 2-0 lead on scores from Goodkind at 29 minutes, one second and Findlay at 28:37. Abbott put Cortland on the scoreboard at 19:29, and the Red Dragons followed with six more goals, including two each from Abbott and Miller, for a 7-2 lead at the intermission.

William Smith opened the second half with two of the first three goals to pull to within 8-4 with 23:48 remaining. After Torre made it a 9-4 game with her second of the contest at 19:24, Parnell and Goodkind scored free-position goals less than two minutes apart to make the score 9-6.

Cortland responded with three of the next four goals, one each from Palmieri, Torre and Shost, to up its lead to 12-7 with 9:25 on the clock. The Red Dragons then controlled the ball to eat up clock before the Herons netted two late scores, at 1:51 and 1:38, for the final of 12-9. 

GAME SUMMARY:
Team                                                            1-2    Final
William Smith (5-1)                                    2-7         9
Cortland (4-4)                                              7-5       12

Scoring (Goals-Assists):
William Smith: Sarah Goodkind 4-0, Michaela Parnell 2-0, Brittany Callaghan 1-0, Cassie Findlay 1-0, Molly Fitzgerald 1-0, Lucy Johnson 0-2, Karin LeBlanc 0-1
Cortland: Lindsay Abbott 4-1, Danielle Torre 3-0, Jordan Miller 2-0, Megan Clare 1-1, Mallory Palmieri 1-0, Brianna Shost 1-0, Meghan Gallagher 0-3

Goalkeepers:
William Smith: Rebecca Josefiak, 7 saves (12 GA in 60:00)
Cortland: Amanda Caloia, 8 saves (9 GA in 60:00)

Shots: Cortland 27, William Smith 21 
Ground Balls: Cortland 20, William Smith 15
Clears: Cortland 13-of-17, William Smith 7-of-13 
Draw Controls: William Smith 13, Cortland 10
Caused Turnovers: Cortland 8, William Smith 7
Turnovers: William Smith 20, Cortland 15
Fouls: Cortland 19, William Smith 16