CORTLAND, N.Y. – Seniors Lindsay Abbott (South Onondaga/Onondaga Central) and Erin Kollar (East Islip) and junior Maria Di Fato (Camillus/West Genesee) combined to score 21 points as the nationally third-ranked Cortland women's lacrosse team defeated Ithaca, 17-6, Saturday afternoon in non-conference action at the SUNY Cortland Stadium Complex.

Kollar tied her career high with five goals, Di Fato matched her career high with seven points on four goals and three assists and Abbott tallied a game-high nine points on three goals and six assists for Cortland (5-1). Senior Jordan Miller (Liverpool) and sophomores Liz Beville (Jamesville/Jamesville-DeWitt), Heather Casey (Denville, NJ/Morris Knolls), Taylor Reh (Miller Place) and Taylor Robinson (Manlius/Fayetteville-Manlius) each netted a goal, junior Laura Edward (Blue Point/Bayport-Blue Point) recorded two assists and juniors Gina Campese (East Syracuse/East Syracuse-Minoa) and Mary Hartzheim (Manlius/Fayetteville-Manlius) and freshman Marilyn Farrell (Fayetteville/Fayetteville-Manlius) notched one assist apiece.

Junior goalie Shauna Hutchinson (Islip Terrace/East Islip) made six saves. Di Fato and sophomore Jessica Lavelle (Fayetteville/Fayetteville-Manlius) each registered four caused turnovers with Di Fato collecting a team-high five ground balls. Abbott added three caused turnovers, while Edward had a game-best five draw controls and junior Natalie Melaniff (Wantagh) contributed four draws.

Senior Nicole Borisenok (Watervliet/Albany Academy for Girls) and junior Nikki Dahl (Columbus, OH/Wellington School) paced Ithaca (3-2) with two goals each. Senior Racquel Lividini (Mamaroneck) and freshman Molly Fischer (Aquinnah, MA/Martha's Vineyard) netted one goal apiece, and junior Tracy Rivas (East Meadow) and sophomore Becky Guzzo (Baldwinsville/C.W. Baker) chipped in with one assist each.

Sophomore Brittany Romano (Penfield) earned her first start of the season between the pipes, playing the first half and also subbing back in to play the final 17 minutes, 11 seconds of the second half. She surrendered 12 goals and stopped eight shots. Junior Jess Worthman (Commack/Hauppauge) saw action in the first 12:49 of the second half, allowing five goals and making one save. Sophomore Jenna Marchinetti (Glastonbury, CT) led the Bombers with three caused turnovers, senior Siobhan Sullivan (Franklin, MA) recorded a team-high five ground balls and junior Kim Armbruster (Boonton, NJ/Montville) registered a team-best three draws.

Borisenok gave the Bombers their only lead of the game with a free-position goal 54 seconds into the game. Cortland responded with three goals in less than a two-minute span to grab a 3-1 lead. Abbott assisted on a pair of Kollar scores and Di Fato also netted a goal. Borisenok's second of the game at 21:03 pulled Ithaca to within 3-2, but the Red Dragons closed the half with five straight goals from five different players for an 8-2 lead at the break.

Cortland took control of the game by tallying five of the first six goals of the second half for a 13-3 advantage at the 17:40 mark. After Di Fato and Dahl traded goals to start the half, Kollar, Di Fato, Robinson and Abbott each scored in less than a six-minute span. Fischer and Dahl stopped the run with goals at 14:30 and 11:40. Abbott and Casey extended Cortland's lead back to 10 at 15-5. Lividini scored for Ithaca at 2:08, and Kollar and Beville capped off the scoring with tallies at 1:44 and 33 seconds for the final of 17-6.  

GAME SUMMARY:

Cortland 17, Ithaca 6

Team                           1-2    Final
Ithaca (3-2)                   2-4        6
Cortland (5-1)                8-9       17

Scoring (Goals-Assists):

Ithaca: Nicole Borisenok 2-0, Nikki Dahl 2-0, Molly Fischer 1-0, Racquel Lividini 1-0, Becky Guzzo 0-1, Tracy Rivas 0-1
Cortland: Erin Kollar 5-0, Maria Di Fato 4-3, Lindsay Abbott 3-6, Taylor Reh 1-0, Jordan Miller 1-0, Heather Casey 1-0, Taylor Robinson 1-0, Liz Beville 1-0, Marilyn Farrell 0-1, Mary Hartzheim 0-1, Gina Campese 0-1

Goalkeepers:
Ithaca: Brittany Romano, 8 saves (12 GA in 47:11), Jess Worthman, 1 save (5 GA in 12:49)
Cortland: Shauna Hutchinson, 6 saves (6 GA in 60:00)

Shots: Cortland 33, Ithaca 15
Ground Balls: Cortland 24, Ithaca 19
Clears: Cortland 16-of-17, Ithaca 15-of-23
Draw Controls: Cortland 17, Ithaca 8
Caused Turnovers: Cortland 13, Ithaca 10
Turnovers: Ithaca 21, Cortland 14
Fouls: Cortland 27, Ithaca 13