OWINGS MILLS, MD. – The nationally top-ranked and defending Div. III champion Trinity College women's lacrosse team scored the game's final three goals and defeated fourth-ranked Cortland, 8-6, Saturday afternoon in the NCAA Div. III Women's Lacrosse Semifinals at Mustang Stadium in Owings Mills, Md.
The Red Dragons had their 18-game winning streak snapped and concluded their season at 21-2. The Bantams improved to 21-0 and face second-ranked Salisbury, an 8-7 winner versus third-ranked Middlebury in the day's first semifinal, in the title game on Sunday.
Senior
Maria Di Fato (Camillus/West Genesee) concluded her career with two goals and one assist to lead Cortland. Sophomore
Emma Hayes-Hurley (Huntington) and freshman
Erica Geremia (Camillus/West Genesee) each scored twice, sophomore
Marilyn Farrell (Fayetteville/Fayetteville-Manlius) recorded two assists and senior
Gina Campese (East Syracuse/East Syracuse Minoa) chipped in with one assist.
Senior goalie
Shauna Hutchinson (Islip Terrace/East Islip) made six saves for the Red Dragons. Senior
Jamie Flood (East Islip) registered three caused turnovers, while senior
Meg Rowe (Baldwinsville/C.W. Baker) collected four ground balls.
Junior Shea Kusiak (Longmeadow, MA) paced Trinity's offense with two goals and three assists. Freshman Martha Griffin (Exeter, NH/Phillips Exeter Academy) had two goals and one assist, sophomore Molly Cox (Norwell, MA) netted two goals and seniors Megan Leonhard (Summit, NJ/St. George's) and Hadley Duncan (Rye/Holy Child) each scored once. Freshman goalie Emily Mooney (New York/Kent School) stopped eight shots.
The Red Dragons jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the early stages of the game. Di Fato scored off a feed from Campese at 27:25. Farrell then set up Geremia's goal in front at 25:15. Hayes-Hurley made it a 3-0 game when she scored off her own rebound at the 24:28 mark. Cox cut the lead to 3-1 one minute later off an assist from Kusiak.
Neither team scored for nearly 10 minutes until Leonhard fired a shot inside the right post from the free position at 13:38. Griffin tied the game with a man-up free-position goal at 9:42 before Kusiak scored unassisted at 6:19 to give the Bantams their first lead of the game. Hayes-Hurley broke a Cortland scoring drought of 21:58 when she scored off a feed from Di Fato to tie the game at 4-4 after Di Fato gained possession of a loose ball near the top of the eight-meter fan.
Di Fato opened the second half with a free-position goal into the upper right, but Kusiak evened the game at 5-5 when her attended pass slipped inside the left post through traffic. Cortland regained the lead at 23:18 off a fast-break goal with Farrell feeding a pass to a wide open Geremia on the left side of the cage, but that score would prove to be Cortland's last of the contest.
Trinity pulled even again at 6-6 when Kusiak found Cox wide open at the top of the crease at 14:21, and the Bantams gained their first lead of the second half as Duncan scored from the left side at 8:15. The Bantams won the ensuing draw control and Griffin scored off a feed from Kusiak to give Trinity an 8-6 lead with 7:18 remaining.
The Red Dragons forced a turnover with just over four minutes remaining but committed a turnover with under four minutes to play. After a Trinity timeout with 1:33 to play, the Red Dragons forced another turnover with just under a minute on the clock. After several Trinity fouls, freshman
Tara Monaghan (Stony Point/Norrth Rockland) had Cortland's final chance to cut into the Bantam's lead, but Mooney denied Monaghan's free-position chance with 14 seconds remaining to seal the 8-6 victory.
Hayes-Hurley and junior
Jessica Lavelle (Fayetteville/Fayetteville-Manlius) were named to the Final Four All-Tournament Team.
(Story updated June 4 to reflect all-tournament selections.)
GAME SUMMARY:
Trinity 8, Cortland 6
Team 1-2 Final
Trinity (21-0) 4-4 8
Cortland (21-2) 4-2 6
Scoring (Goals-Assists):
Trinity: Shea Kusiak 2-3, Martha Griffin 2-1, Molly Cox 2-0, Megan Leonhard 1-0, Hadley Duncan 1-0
Cortland:
Maria Di Fato 2-1,
Emma Hayes-Hurley 2-0,
Erica Geremia 2-0,
Marilyn Farrell 0-2,
Gina Campese 0-1
Goalkeepers:
Trinity: Emily Mooney, 8 saves (6 GA in 60:00)
Cortland:
Shauna Hutchinson, 6 saves (8 GA in 60:00)
Shots: Trinity 19, Cortland 18
Ground Balls: Trinity 23, Cortland 18
Clears: Trinity 16-of-18, Cortland 12-of-16
Draw Controls: Cortland 9, Trinity 7
Caused Turnovers: Trinity 12, Cortland 10
Turnovers: Cortland 17, Trinity 13
