CORTLAND, N.Y. – The nationally sixth-ranked Cortland women's lacrosse team closed the first half on an 8-0 run to take control and went onto a 17-5 victory versus Denison University Saturday afternoon at a rainy Stadium Complex. The Red Dragons improved to 4-2 with the win, while the Big Red dropped to 4-3. The match up was the first between the two programs since 1984.

Senior Nicolette Tortorici (Deer Park) led the Cortland offense with a career-high four goals. Freshman Lexie Meager (Syracuse/West Genesee) tallied a career-best six points on three goals and three assists, and junior Hannah Elmer (Syracuse/West Genesee) also netted three goals. Sophomore Carly Stone (Syracuse/Jamesville-DeWitt) scored twice, senior Kristen Ohberg (Brewster) notched one goal and two assists and freshman Brie Yonge (Penn Yan/Penn Yan Academy) recorded one goal and one assist.

Senior Makenzie Annable (Navarino/Onondaga), junior Katie Wolfe (East Amherst/Williamsville North) and freshman Baylee Ojeda (Canandaigua/Canandaigua Academy) each added a goal for the Red Dragons with Ojeda's score being the first of her career. Junior Megan Gonzalez (Miller Place) and junior Jaycie Annable (Navarino/Onondaga) contributed one assist apiece.

Cortland senior goalie Jaclyn Beshlian (Wantagh) made six saves in 48:40, while junior Kristyn Drake (Tully) did not register a stop in 11:20. Wolfe added four draw controls and three ground balls to her stat line, while Tortorici secured four draws and Ohberg caused three turnovers.

Freshman Kiely Noonan (Wellesley, MA) paced Denison with two goals. Senior Claire Ludlow (East Grand Rapids, MI) tallied one goal and one assist, junior Leah Israel (Bloomfield Hills, MI/Cranbrook Kingswood) and sophomore Colleen Muldoon (Ardsley) each scored a goal and junior Halle Walsh (Duxbury, MA) and freshman Leander Perun (Durham, NC/Durham Academy) chipped in with one assist apiece.

Sophomore Hannah Magarian (Minneapolis, MN/Blake) started in goal, making one save in 24:44. Junior Becca Jones (Wolfeboro, NH/Brewster Academy) registered one save in 25:16. Ludlow won three draws, and sophomore Jane Goodspeed (East Grand Rapids, MI) caused two turnovers.

Elmer gave Cortland an early 1-0 with her first goal of the game at the 28:39 mark of the first half. After Noonan tied the score less than four minutes later, the Red Dragons went on an 8-0 run to build a 9-1 lead at the break. Tortorici and Meager each scored three times during the streak, and Stone and Elmer netted one goal each.

Israel scored 21 seconds into the second half to make it a 9-2 game, but Cortland pushed its lead to 13-2 with a four-goal spurt in less than four minutes as four different players found the back of the net. Noonan's second goal of the game at 17:09 cut the lead to 13-3 before the Red Dragons strung together four more goals, again from four different players, to take a commanding 17-3 advantage with 5:47 remaining. Ludlow and Muldoon completed the scoring with goals at 3:22 and 1:30, respectively, for the 17-5 final.
 
Cortland 17, Denison 5
 
GAME SUMMARY:
 
Team               1-2 Final
Denison           1-4     5
Cortland           9-8   17
 
Scoring (Goals-Assists):
Denison: Kiely Noonan 2-0, Claire Ludlow 1-1, Leah Israel 1-0, Colleen Muldoon 1-0, Halle Walsh 0-1, Leander Perun 0-1
Cortland: Nicolette Tortorici 4-0, Lexie Meager 3-3, Hannah Elmer 3-0, Carly Stone 2-0, Kristen Ohberg 1-2, Brie Yonge 1-1, Katie Wolfe 1-0, Baylee Ojeda 1-0, Makenzie Annable 1-0, Megan Gonzalez 0-1, Jaycie Annable 0-1
 
Goalkeepers:
Denison: Hannah Magarian, 1 save (9 GA in 24:44), Becca Jones, 1 save (8 GA in 35:16)
Cortland: Jaclyn Beshlian, 6 saves (3 GA in 48:40), Kristyn Drake, 0 saves (2 GA in 11:20)
 
Shots: Cortland 21, Denison 18
Ground Balls: Denison 17, Cortland 14
Clears: Cortland 15-of-17, Denison 9-of-13
Draw Controls: Cortland 13, Denison 11
Caused Turnovers: Cortland 9, Denison 9
Turnovers: Denison 16, Cortland 15
 
Records after game: Cortland (Red Dragons) 4-2 (ranked 6th nationally in Div. III); Denison (Big Red) 4-3