CORTLAND, N.Y. – The nationally 17th-ranked Cortland field hockey team opened up a 4-0 lead at the half and went on to defeat Nazareth College, 7-2, in non-conference action Tuesday afternoon at the Stadium Complex White Field. The Red Dragons, who have scored 29 goals in their last three games, improved to 6-2 with the win, while the Golden Flyers fell to 3-5.

Freshman Gabrielle Stein (Endwell/Maine-Endwell) recorded the second hat trick of her career and added an assist to lead the Cortland offense. Sophomore Jillian Vogl (Cazenovia) recorded one goal and two assists, senior Karly Vdoviak (Johnstown) contributed one goal and one assist and senior Erin Smith (Greene) and junior Abbey Wentlent (Greene) each tallied a goal. Junior goalie Amanda Perricone (Bedminster, PA/Pennridge) played the first half in the cage and did not face a shot on goal. Freshman Chelsea Palma (Holbrook/Sachem North) stopped two shots in the second half.

Senior Jordan Ritchie (Brockport/Hilton) and sophomore Maggie Muzio (Latham/Shaker) scored Nazareth's goals with senior Sarah Wazenkewitz (North Syracuse/Cicero-North Syracuse) picking up an assist. Freshman goalie Mary Greco (Hatfield, MA/Northampton) registered 17 saves. Senior Hannah Weitzel (Webster/Webster Thomas) recorded two defensive saves, and freshman Kailee Coleman (Blossvale/Camden) added one.

Cortland carried the play from the opening whistle and finally broke through at 17 minutes, 23 seconds when Wentlent tucked a penalty stroke into the upper right corner after Greco covered the ball in the corcle. Just under three minutes later, Stein scored her first of the game on a rebound after Greco denied junior Erica Wharton's (Putnam Valley) initial shot. Vogl made it 3-0 at 27:44, blasting a long shot inside the left post from the right side, and Vdoviak sent Cortland into intermission with a 4-0 lead when she buried a rebound into the upper left from the left side at 33:01.

Stein pushed the lead to 5-0 at the 41:57 mark, deflecting Vdoviak's cross from the right past Greco. Ritchie put the Golden Flyers on the scoreboard at 47:19 when she was able to knock a rebound of her own shot by Palma right in front. One minute and 38 seconds later, Stein completed her hat trick on a deflection of a Vogl pass in the middle of the circle on a penalty corner. Smith increased Cortland's lead to 7-1 at 57:49 with a shot through Greco's pads, also on a penalty corner. Muzio completed the scoring just over two minutes later when she accepted a pass from Wazenkewitz, carried into the circle and deposited a long shot inside the left post.

Cortland 7, Nazareth 2

Scoring Summary (Goals-Assists):
Nazareth: Jordan Ritchie 1-0, Maggie Muzio 1-0, Sarah Wazenkewitz 0-1
Cortland: Gabrielle Stein 3-1, Jillian Vogl 1-2, Karly Vdoviak 1-1, Erin Smith 1-0, Abbey Wentlent 1-0

Halftime: Cortland 4, Nazareth 0
Shots: Cortland 40, Nazareth 5
Penalty Corners: Cortland 28, Nazareth 1
Saves: Mary Greco (Nazareth) 17 (7 GA in 70:00); Amanda Perricone (Cortland) 0 (0 GA in 35:00), Chelsea Palma (Cortland) 2 (2 GA in 35:00)

Record after game: Nazareth (Golden Flyers) 3-5; Cortland (Red Dragons) 6-2 (ranked 17th nationally in Div. III)