CORTLAND, N.Y. – Senior Brenda Semit (Holland Patent), junior Danielle Hand (Whitney Point) and sophomore Sara Woodward (Pine Plains) each scored goals as nationally fifth-ranked Cortland opened the season with a 3-0 victory over visiting Ithaca College under the lights at the SUNY Cortland Stadium Complex.

Senior Ashley Hughes (Selden/Comsewogue) made two saves for the shutout as Cortland outshot the Bombers (0-1) by a 30-3 margin. Ithaca sophomore goalie Kelly Singleton (Rochester/Irondequoit) finished with 13 saves.

Semit opened the scoring 15:41 into the contest. She took a penalty corner pass at the top of the circle, dribbled forward into an opening and scored on a shot from about 10 yards away. The Red Dragons added an insurance goal 8:08 into the second half when Hand took a lead pass from senior Brittany Wilson (Farmingville/Sachem East) on a break and scored into an empty cage.

Woodward completed the scoring with 14:20 left in the game. She carried the ball just inside the upper right portion of the arc and blasted a shot past Singleton from 15 yards out.

Ithaca's best scoring chance came on the final play of the game. On a penalty corner as time expired, Katherine Brown received the ball at the top of the circle, dribbled forward and unleashed a shot that was stopped by Hughes. The ball trickled behind Hughes, however, after the initial stop and just missed the cage wide to the left.

Cortland will host 10th-ranked Skidmore College on Friday at 4 p.m. Last year, the Red Dragons won at Skidmore, 4-3, in penalty strokes, after the teams had played to a 3-3 tie through regulation and two overtime periods.

Cortland 3, Ithaca 0

Scoring Summary (Goals-Assists):
Ithaca: No scoring
Cortland: Brenda Semit 1-0, Danielle Hand 1-0, Sara Woodward 1-0, Brittany Wilson 0-1

Halftime: Cortland 1, Ithaca 0
Shots: Cortland 30, Ithaca 3
Penalty Corners: Cortland 10, Ithaca 4
Saves: Kelly Singleton (Ithaca) 13 (3 GA in 70:00); Ashley Hughes (Cortland) 3 (0 GA in 70:00)
Record after game: Cortland (Red Dragons) 1-0 (ranked 5th in Div. III); Ithaca (Bombers) 0-1