CORTLAND, N.Y. – The top-seeded Cortland women's lacrosse team earned an automatic NCAA Div. III tournament berth with a 14-7 victory versus second-seeded Geneseo Saturday afternoon at Grady Field in the championship game of the SUNYAC Women's Lacrosse Tournament. The Red Dragons improved to 14-4 on the season with their 12th consecutive win, while the Knights fell to 14-4 and had their nine-game winning streak snapped.

Freshman Ashley Melillo (Massapequa) led Cortland's offense with four goals. Graduate student Amy Hoeffner (Bay Shore), the tournament MVP, scored three goals and added nine draw controls and three caused turnovers. She moved into second place in program history with 329 draws, just two behind career leader Emma Hayes-Hurley.

Sophomore Mackenzie Beck (Port Jefferson Station/Comsewogue) also netted three goals for the Red Dragons. Junior Nicole Iapoce (Clintondale/Highland) tallied two goals and two assists, sophomore Emma Dempsey (Brewerton/Paul V. Moore) recorded a goal and an assist, senior Toni Cashman (East Moriches/Westhampton Beach) scored a goal, graduate student Rachel Janis (Laurel/Mattituck) collected five assists and juniors Isabel Adams (Burnt Hills/Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake) and sophomore Rachel Rempe (Aquebogue/Riverhead) each chipped in with an assist.

Sophomore goalie Margaret Morgan (New Fairfield, CT) turned aside nine shots and scooped up four ground balls. Freshman Lexi Caron (Manlius/Fayetteville-Manlius) secured five ground balls and caused three turnovers, graduate student Amanda Squillini (Stony Point/North Rockland) recorded four ground balls, senior Julie Kadletz (Shoreham/Shoreham-Wading River) finished with three ground balls and two draws and Cashman added four caused turnovers.

Natalie Long (Auburn) netted a pair of goals for Geneseo. Molly Brown (Cazenovia) recorded a goal and an assist. Maira Brennan (Irondequoit), Emily Salanger (Syracuse/Liverpool), Rachel Dickinson (Yaphank/Bellport) and Sophie Lyko (Macedon/Palmyra-Macedon) each scored a goal and Maddie Brown (Henrietta/Rush-Henrietta) contributed two assists.

Goalie Emily DeJohn (Baldwinsville/C.W. Baker) registered five saves. Tricia Curran (Hamburg/Frontier) finished with six ground balls, four caused turnover and four draws. Brennan added four ground balls and two caused turnovers, Salanger caused two turnovers and Sarah Ginnane (Buffalo/Mt. St. Mary) finished with two ground balls and two caused turnovers.

The game remained tight throughout the first half. Cortland held a 3-2 lead after the first quarter as Beck, Iapoce and Melillo each scored for the Red Dragons, while Salanger and Lyko netted Geneseo's goals. After Long tied the game at 3-3 early in the second quarter, Beck put the Red Dragons ahead for good with her second goal at the 11:48 mark. Hoeffner closed the half with back-to-back goals, the second while a player down with just 22.6 seconds on the clock, to make it a 6-3 score at the half.

The Red Dragons started to pull away in the third quarter, outscoring the Knights, 6-2, to build a 12-5 advantage. Melillo scored twice and Cashman, Dempsey, Hoeffner and Iapoce each chipped in with a goal. Long and Molly Brown netted the goals for Geneseo. After Dickinson scored 1:03 into the fourth quarter, Melillo and Beck netted goals to push Cortland's lead to 14-6 with 4:52 remaining. Brennan completed the scoring at 3:31 as Cortland sealed the 14-7 victory and the NCAA playoff berth.

Joining Hoeffner on the all-tournament team were Cashman, Kadletz, Squillini, Janis and Melillo of Cortland; Ginnane, Long, Curran and Maddie Brown of Geneseo; Cassidy Burnash of Brockport; and Morgan Atwater of New Paltz. Lyko received the Elite 20 Award for the highest grade-point-average among teams competing in the conference tournament.

The Red Dragons learn of their opponent and destination in the NCAA playoffs Monday during the NCAA selection show.

Cortland 14, Geneseo 7

Team                    1-2-3-4       Final
Geneseo              2-1-2-2             7
Cortland               3-3-6-2           14

Scoring (Goals-Assists):
Geneseo: Natalie Long 2-0, Molly Brown 1-1, Maira Brennan 1-0, Emily Salanger 1-0, Rachel Dickinson 1-0, Sophie Lyko 1-0, Maddie Brown 0-2
Cortland: Ashley Melillo 4-0, Amy Hoeffner 3-0, Mackenzie Beck 3-0, Nicole Iapoce 2-2, Emma Dempsey 1-1, Toni Cashman 1-0, Rachel Janis 0-5, Isabel Adams 0-1, Rachel Rempe 0-1

Goalkeepers:
Geneseo: Emily DeJohn, 5 saves (14 GA in 60:00)
Cortland: Margaret Morgan, 9 saves (7 GA in 60:00)

Shots: Cortland 32, Geneseo 29 
Ground Balls: Cortland 28, Geneseo 22
Clears: Cortland 16-of-21, Geneseo 14-of-20 
Draw Controls: Cortland 14, Geneseo 10
Caused Turnovers: Cortland 12, Geneseo 12
Turnovers: Cortland 22, Geneseo 18 

Records after game: Geneseo (Knights) 14-4, Cortland (Red Dragons) 14-4