ITHACA, N.Y. – The nationally eighth-ranked Cortland women's lacrosse team scored the last 10 goals of the game and went on to defeat Ithaca, 17-7, in non-conference action Saturday afternoon at Higgins Field. The Red Dragons improved to 6-1 with the victory, while the Bombers fell to 2-2.

Junior Lindsay Abbott (South Onondaga/Onondaga Central) paced the Cortland offense with five goals and two assists, all coming in the second half. Abbott also added game highs of six ground balls and five draw controls. Sophomore Maria Di Fato (Camillus/West Genesee) contributed six points on four goals and two assists, as well as a game-high five caused turnovers. Freshman Liz Beville (Syracuse/Jamesville-DeWitt) tallied a career-best five points on two goals and three assists.

Junior Erin Kollar (East Islip) recorded two goals and one assist, freshman Taylor Robinson (Manlius/Fayetteville-Manlius) scored twice and sophomore Gina Campese (East Syracuse/East Syracuse-Minoa) and freshman Taylor Reh (Miller Place) each scored once. Sophomore goalie Ally Levy (Reisterstown, MD/Seton Keough) made 10 saves.

Seniors Ali DeCirce (Binghamton) and Katie Hurley (Honeoye Falls/Honeoye Falls-Lima) led Ithaca with two goals apiece. Senior Emily Finn (Concord, NH/Bishop-Brady) and sophomores Tracy Rivas (East Meadow) and Michelle Avery (Norwalk, CT/Brien McMahon) each netted one goal. Sophomore goalie Jess Worthman (Commack/Hauppauge) stopped 10 shots.

Robinson gave the Red Dragons a 1-0 lead with a free-position goal at 28 minutes, three seconds of the opening half, but Rivas and Hurley netted back-to-back goals 49 seconds apart to give the Bombers a 2-1 edge. After Di Fato and Hurley traded goals, Cortland scored three straight to grab a 5-3 lead 6:43 before the half. Each team scored twice more before intermission, and the Red Dragons held a 7-5 advantage at the break.

The Bombers tied the game less than five minutes into the second half on goals from Finn and DeCirce, but it was all Cortland from that point. After Reh gave Cortland an 8-7 lead, Abbott assisted on goals by Di Fato and Kollar, then scored three straight times to push the Red Dragons' advantage to 13-7 with 11:45 remaining. Di Fato scored her fourth of the game on the free position at 10:05, then Beville recorded her third assist on Robinson's goal at 8:35 and Cortland led 15-7. Abbott completed the scoring with a pair of unassisted goals to increase her team-high total to 22 on the season. 

Cortland 17, Ithaca 7

Team                    1-2      Final
Cortland (6-1)      7-10      17
Ithaca (2-2)           5-2        7

Scoring (Goals-Assists):
Cortland: Lindsay Abbott 5-2, Maria Di Fato 4-2, Liz Beville 2-3, Erin Kollar 2-1, Taylor Robinson 2-0, Taylor Reh 1-0, Gina Campese 1-0
Ithaca: Ali DeCirce 2-0, Katie Hurley 2-0, Tracy Rivas 1-0, Michelle Avery 1-0, Emily Finn 1-0

Goalkeepers:
Cortland: Ally Levy, 10 saves (7 GA in 60:00)
Ithaca: Jess Worthman, 10 saves (17 GA in 60:00)

Shots: Cortland 30, Ithaca 27 
Ground Balls: Cortland 24, Ithaca 18
Clears: Cortland 12-of-15, Ithaca 9-of-15
Draw Controls: Cortland 14, Ithaca 12
Caused Turnovers: Cortland 13, Ithaca 4
Turnovers: Ithaca 21, Cortland 19
Fouls: Ithaca 18, Cortland 16