Freshman Lindsay Abbott was named the Most Valuable Player of the tournament
5/2/2009
BUFFALO, N.Y. – Freshman Lindsay Abbott (South Onondaga/Onondaga Central) scored five goals as the nationally 19th-ranked Cortland women's lacrosse team defeated 18th-ranked Buffalo St., 11-8, in the finals of the SUNYAC Tournament. The Red Dragons improved to 13-6 on the season and earned their 11th consecutive conference crown and NCAA berth. The Bengals had their 16-game winning streak snapped and fell to 16-2 and await a possible at-large NCAA playoff berth.
Abbott earned Most Valuable Player honors at the tournament and increased her season point total to 80 on 65 goals and 15 assists. Senior Danielle Torre (Massapequa) became Cortland's single-season points and goals leader with three goals and an assist and now has 98 on 74 goals and 24 assists. Torre broke Brooke VandeWalker's mark of 94 points set in 2002 and Sue Fitzgerald's record of 73 goals established in 1995.
Juniors Jess Fritz (Baldwinsville/C.W. Baker) and Nicki Mahoney (Canandaigua/Canandaigua Academy) and sophomore Brianna Shost (Mahopac) each scored a goal for Cortland. Freshman goalie Brianna Straut (Nanuet) made six saves. Senior Lindsay Bakker (Sloatsburg/Suffern) had game highs of five ground balls and three caused turnovers.
Katie Henderson (Hamburg/Frontier) led Buffalo St. with three goals, and Kendyl Clarkson (Painted Post/Corning) had a goal and three assists. Ashley O'Brien (Honeoye Falls/Honeoye Falls-Lima) stopped 12 shots.
Cortland never trailed in the game, grabbing a 3-1 lead five minutes, two seconds into the game and stretched the advantage to 7-4 at the half. The Red Dragons went up 10-5 at the 25:03 mark as they scored three of the first four goals of the second half. The Bengals got back into the game with a three-goal run and trailed just 10-8 with more than 17 minutes remaining on the clock. Cortland netted the only goal the rest of the game and earned the 11-8 victory.
Bakker, Fritz, Torre and senior Anna Fahey (Syracuse/West Genesee) were named to the All-Tournament Team. Also named to the All-Tournament Team were Henderson, O'Brien and Mariah DeBolt of Buffalo St., Laura Kitts and Cat Sligar of Geneseo and Rosemarie Fazio and Michelle Symons of Oneonta.
Cortland 11, Buffalo St. 8
GAME SUMMARY:
Team 1-2 Final
Cortland (13-6) 7-4 11
Buffalo St. (16-2) 4-4 8
Scoring (Goals-Assists):
Cortland: Lindsay Abbott 5-0, Danielle Torre 3-1, Jess Fritz 1-0, Brianna Shost 1-0, Nicki Mahoney 1-0
Buffalo St.: Katie Henderson 3-0, Kendyl Clarkson 1-3, Jennifer Tierney 1-1, Mariah DeBolt 1-0, Karen Shaddock 1-0, Brittany Nagowski 1-0
Goalkeepers:
Cortland: Brianna Straut, 6 saves (8 GA in 60:00)
Buffalo St.: Ashley O'Brien, 12 saves (11 GA in 60:00)
Shots: Cortland 31, Buffalo St. 20
Ground Balls: Cortland 20, Buffalo St. 7
Clears: Cortland 7-of-7, Buffalo St. 7-of-12
Draw Controls: Cortland 11, Buffalo St. 10
Caused Turnovers: Cortland 9, Buffalo St. 5
Turnovers: Buffalo St. 18, Cortland 12
Fouls: Cortland 29, Buffalo St. 23