CORTLAND, N.Y. -- The nationally fourth-ranked Cortland field hockey team broke open a close game with five second-half goals and went on to a 6-0 victory over visiting Houghton College Friday afternoon at the Stadium Complex White Field. With the win, the Red Dragons improved to 3-1, while the Highlanders fell to 1-3.

Junior Kayla Chambers (Craryville/Taconic Hills) led the Cortland offense with two goals, and sophomore Christine McCabe (Greene) recorded a goal and an assist. Sophomore Chelsea Beames (Afton) scored her first goal of the season, and freshmen Ashley Hughes (Selden/Comsewogue) and Holly Duesler (Johnstown) each netted her first career goal.

Sophomore Lauren Eichenberger (Suffern) collected an assist, while freshmen Lauren DiRusso (Endwell/Maine-Endwell) and Brenda Semit (Holland Patent) registered their first career points with assists. Junior goalie Stacy Billings (Marathon) made four saves, all in the first half, to post her first solo shutout of the season.

For the Highlanders, junior goalie Ashley Farr (South Glens Falls) registered 14 saves, including 10 in the second half. The game was closely played throughout the first half, and Cortland finally ended the deadlock 22 minutes, 58 seconds into the game when Chambers one-timed a shot in front off McCabes assist. Houghton had three excellent chances to tie the game in the closing seconds of the first half, but Billings stopped two shots by freshman Sarah Buckwalter (Lititz, PA/Lancaster Mennonite) and one shot by sophomore Carissa Lang (Pittsford/Pittsford Mendon) in quick succession.

The Red Dragons quickly took control of the game in the opening minutes of the second half. Chambers scored her second of the game and team-high eighth of the season 1:48 into the half with a one-time shot at the left post off a feed from Eichenberger. Hughes then knocked in her own rebound less than three minutes later for a 3-0 lead. McCabe made it a 4-0 game with a long shot that deflected off a Houghton players stick and past Farr at 51:11.

Cortland pushed the lead to 5-0 less than six minutes later when Beames scored on a low shot in front, and Duesler finished the scoring as she deflected a shot at the left post with less than three minutes remaining after a penalty corner.

Scoring Summary (Goals-Assists):
Houghton: none
Cortland: Kayla Chambers 2-0, Christine McCabe 1-1, Holly Duesler 1-0, Chelsea Beames 1-0, Ashley Hughes 1-0, Lauren DiRusso 0-1, Lauren Eichenberger 0-1, Brenda Semit 0-1
Halftime: Cortland 1, Houghton 0
Shots: Cortland 29, Houghton 6
Penalty Corners: Cortland 12, Houghton 3
Saves: Ashley Farr (Houghton) 14 (6 GA in 70:00); Stacy Billings (Cortland) 4 (0 GA in 70:00)
Record after game: Cortland (Red Dragons) 3-1; Houghton (Highlanders) 1-3