CORTLAND, N.Y. – The nationally top-ranked Cortland women's lacrosse team held eighth-ranked Geneseo scoreless for a stretch of 32 minutes, 24 seconds spanning the first and second halves and went on to a 14-3 victory to capture its 16th consecutive SUNYAC title and automatic NCAA Div. III playoff berth. The Red Dragons improved to 19-0 on the season and won their 53rd straight home game. The Knights, who had a 10-game winning streak snapped and fell to 16-2, await a possible at-large berth into the national tournament.
Junior
Emma Hayes-Hurley (Huntington) led Cortland with four goals and added an assist. She also collected four ground balls and won four draw controls to earn Tournament MVP honors. Sophomore
Erica Geremia (Camillus/West Genesee) tallied a game-high seven points on one goal and six assists. Senior
Taylor Reh (Miller Place) and sophomores
Tara Monaghan (Stony Point/North Rockland) and
Ashley Gentile (Baldwinsville/C.W. Baker) each netted three goals, while junior
Marilyn Farrell (Fayetteville/Fayetteville-Manlius) registered four assists.
Sophomore goalie
Liz Ingalls (Centerport/St. Anthony's) made four saves in 48:48 for the Red Dragons. Freshman
Jaclyn Beshlian (Wantagh) played the final 11:12, stopping four shots and allowing no goals. Senior
Heather Casey (Denville, NJ/Morris Knolls) recorded four ground balls, and Gentile won four draws.
Senior Emily Haggerty (Syracuse/Westhill) and sophomores Tara Basile (Wantagh) and Liz Felix (Scarsdale) tallied goals for Geneseo. Senior Caroline Buonocore (Syracuse/Westhill) contributed one assist. Junior goalie Laura Passamonte (Baldwinsville/C.W. Baker) turned aside five shots and collected three ground balls. Sophomore Meagan Cook (Northport) also recorded three ground balls.
The Red Dragons opened up a quick 5-0 lead just 6:57 into the game as Reh scored all three of her goals and Hayes-Hurley netted two scores. Geremia registered three of her assists during the run. Haggerty put the Knights on the scoreboard at 13:59 with a free-position goal, and Felix made it a 5-2 game just 23 seconds later. Cortland answered with four straight goals to close the half in building a 9-2 lead. Hayes-Hurley scored twice, and Gentile and Monaghan each chipped in with a goal.
The Red Dragons took control of the game with three goals in less than a three-minute span to open the second half. Geremia scored at 25:53 then assisted Monaghan's goal at 25:02 and Gentile pushed the lead to 12-2 with her goal at 23:15. Monaghan and Gentile added goals at 16:38 and 14:20 to give Cortland its largest lead at 14-2 before Basile's unassisted goal at 11:12 completed the scoring.
Joining Hayes-Hurley on the All-Tournament Team were Geremia, Gentile, sophomore
Colleen Wright (Huntington Station/Huntington) and freshman
Kristen Ohberg (Brewster) of Cortland; Cook, Haggerty and senior Bridget McGovern (Yorktown Heights/Lakeland) of Geneseo; Casey Sarle and Amanda Reichardt of Oneonta; and Jessica Zagari and Marissa Cussins of Fredonia St.
GAME SUMMARY:
Cortland 14, Geneseo 3
Team 1-2 Final
Geneseo 2-1 3
Cortland 9-5 14
Scoring (Goals-Assists):
Geneseo: Emily Haggerty 1-0, Tara Basile 1-0, Liz Felix 1-0, Caroline Buonocore 0-1
Cortland:
Emma Hayes-Hurley 4-1,
Taylor Reh 3-0,
Tara Monaghan 3-0,
Ashley Gentile 3-0,
Erica Geremia 1-6,
Marilyn Farrell 0-4
Goalkeepers:
Geneseo: Laura Passamonte, 5 saves (14 GA in 60:00)
Cortland:
Liz Ingalls, 4 saves (3 GA in 48:48),
Jaclyn Beshlian, 4 saves (0 GA in 11:12)
Shots: Cortland 27, Geneseo 13
Ground Balls: Cortland 19, Geneseo 16
Clears: Cortland 14-of-17, Geneseo 10-of-15
Draw Controls: Cortland 13, Geneseo 6
Caused Turnovers: Geneseo 8, Cortland 5
Turnovers: Cortland 17, Geneseo 14
Records after game: Cortland (Red Dragons) 19-0 (ranked 1st nationally in Div. III); Geneseo (Knights) 16-2 (ranked 8th nationally in Div. III)
