SUNY Cortland Athletics

CORTLAND, N.Y. - The nationally second-ranked Cortland women's lacrosse team scored the last four goals of the game to earn a 15-6 victory versus 17th-ranked Fredonia Saturday afternoon in the championship game of the SUNYAC Women's Lacrosse Tournament at the Stadium Complex. The Red Dragons improved to 17-1 on the season and won their 17th consecutive conference tournament title and earned their 17th straight NCAA Div. III playoff berth. The Blue Devils had a nine-game winning streak snapped and fell to 15-3 and await a possible at-large bid to the NCAA tournament.

Sophomore Kristen Ohberg (Brewster) led Cortland with four goals. Junior Nicole Bello (Camillus/West Genesee) recorded three goals and one assist, while junior Tara Monaghan (Stony Point/North Rockland) also netted three goals to earn Tournament MVP honors. Senior Emma Hayes-Hurley (Huntington) and junior Ashley Gentile (Baldwinsville/C.W. Baker) each netted a pair of goals with Gentile becoming the 27th player in program history to reach 100 career goals.

Freshman Hannah Elmer (Syracuse/West Genesee) recorded one goal and one assist, and senior Marilyn Farrell (Fayetteville/Fayetteville-Manlius) contributed one assist for Cortland.

Sophomore goalie Jaclyn Beshlian (Wantagh) made five saves for the Red Dragons. Hayes-Hurley won seven draws, collected three ground balls and forced two turnovers. Gentile and senior Melissa Halstead (Miller Place) each scooped up three ground balls, and Monaghan won three draws.

Sophomore Kristie Kleine (Cazenovia) led the Blue Devils with three goals. Graduate student Shelby DePew (Macedon/Palmyra-Macedon), senior Marissa Cussins (Corning/Corning West) and sophomore Emily Polizzi (Rushville/Marcus Whitman) each netted a goal with graduate student Katie Kleine (Cazenovia) and junior Katie Miller (Hamburg) recording one assist apiece.

Freshman goalie Nicole Burrows (Baldwinsville/C.W. Baker) turned aside eight shots. Katie Kleine won three draws to become Fredonia's career leader, and freshman Audrey Yokopovich (Webster/Webster Thomas) also recorded three draws. Kristie Kleine and Polizzi each caused two turnovers.

 

The game featured deliberate play early on with Fredonia taking a 1-0 lead on Cussins' goal at 28:26. The score remained 1-0 until the 16:56 mark when Monaghan scored her first of the contest. Hayes-Hurly and Ohberg pushed the lead to 3-1 before Kristie Kleine cut the advantage to 3-2 at 13:42. Cortland answered with the final five goals of the half to take an 8-2 lead into the break.

The Blue Devils quickly pulled to within 8-4 as Polizzi scored at 27:09 and Kleine netted her second of the game at 26:44 of the second half. Ohberg, Gentile and Hayes-Hurley strung together goals for the Red Dragons to make it an 11-4 game just past the midway point of the half. Kleine's third score of the game made to an 11-5 score, and DePew cut the lead to 11-6 just 17 seconds later when she finished off a 3-on-1 break. Cortland responded with goals from Ohberg at 7:54 and Bello at 6:21 to take control of the game. Monaghan finished off the scoring with a pair of goals inside the last minute for the 15-6 final.

Joining Monaghan on the All-Tournament Team were Hayes-Hurley, Ohberg, Beshlian and junior Colleen Wright (Huntington Station/Huntington) of Cortland; Katie Kleine, Kristie Kleine and Polizzi of Fredonia; Colleen Hathaway and Jessica Boddery of Brockport; and Katey Hart and Claudia Coleates of Geneseo.    



Cortland 15, Fredonia 6

GAME SUMMARY:

Team                  1-2 Final
Fredonia            2-4     6
Cortland             8-7   15

Scoring (Goals-Assists):
Fredonia: Kristie Kleine 3-0, Marissa Cussins 1-0, Shelby DePew 1-0, Emily Polizzi 1-0, Katie Kleine 0-1, Katie Miller 0-1
Cortland: Kristen Ohberg 4-0, Nicole Bello 3-1, Tara Monaghan 3-0, Emma Hayes-Hurley 2-0, Ashley Gentile 2-0, Hannah Elmer 1-1, Marilyn Farrell 0-1

Goalkeepers:
Fredonia: Nicole Burrows, 8 saves (15 GA in 60:00)
Cortland: Jaclyn Beshlian, 5 saves (6 GA in 60:00)

Shots: Cortland 35, Fredonia 15
Ground Balls: Cortland 18, Fredonia 9
Clears: Cortland 11-for-13, Fredonia 9-for-12
Draw Controls: Cortland 13, Fredonia 10
Caused Turnovers: Cortland 6, Fredonia 4
Turnovers: Fredonia 13, Cortland 5

Records after game: Cortland (Red Dragons) 17-1 (ranked 2nd nationally in Div. III); Fredonia (Blue Devils) 15-3 (ranked 17th nationally in Div. III)