OSWEGO, NY – The Cortland women's lacrosse team saw its streak of 41 straight victories in State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) action, dating back to 2019, come to an end with a 10-8 defeat at Oswego on Thursday evening. Cortland falls to 6-5 (4-1 SUNYAC), while Oswego improves to 9-2 (5-0 SUNYAC). The Lakers also ended a 34-game losing streak to the Red Dragons all-time.
 
Ashley Melillo (Massapequa) led Cortland with three goals, and contributed two caused turnovers and two ground balls. Toni Cashman (East Moriches/Westhampton Beach) netted a pair of goals and Brooke Elizalde (Ronkonkoma/Connetquot) provided a goal and an assist. Mia Mitchell (Akwesasne/The Hill Academy) and Emma Dempsey (Brewerton/Paul V. Moore) both scored a goal.
 
Isabel Adams (Burnt Hills/Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake) had an assists, two caused turnovers, and four ground balls, and Nicole Iapoce (Clintondale/Highland) tallied an assist. Rachel Rempe (Aquebogue/Riverhead) registered four draw controls.
 
Madison Davis had three goals and four assists to lead Oswego, and Mackenzie Winn added two goals and three assists and Cassidy Croce netted three goals and added an assist. Alana Iacovissi made eight saves in goal for the win for the Lakers. Julia Quirk contributed five draw controls and three caused turnovers.
 
Oswego opened the scoring with a goal by Croce just 33 seconds into the contest, and added a second goal by Winn less than a minute later to lead 2-0 with 13:37 remaining.
 
The Red Dragons got on the board with a goal from Dempsey, her 10th of the season, off a feed from Iapoce. Oswego held Cortland off the scoreboard for the remainder of the frame, and added a free-position goal by Alexis Hill in the final three minutes of the period to lead 3-1 after one quarter.
 
Cortland got the offense going in the second quarter, netting five times to take a 6-5 halftime lead. Cashman scored a player-up goal for the Red Dragons after a green card by Oswego. The Lakers responded quickly with a goal by Croce with 12:34 remaining to re-establish a two-goal advantage at 4-2. Elizalde netted another player-up goal for Cortland, but Oswego once again responded with a goal less than a minute later. Cortland closed the half by scoring three straight times. Melillo made it 5-4 with 6:58 remaining, and another player-up goal by Cashman tied the score at 5-apiece in the final five minutes. Melillo found the back of the net for a free-position goal with 37 seconds remaining.
 
Oswego held Cortland to just one goal in both the third and fourth quarters of the contest, while scoring twice in the third quarter and three times in the fourth quarter for the win.
 
After the Lakers tied the game at 6-6 just before the midway mark of the third quarter, Melillo netted her third goal of the game to give the Red Dragons the lead again, driving from behind the cage and ripping a shot into the top left corner of the net with 3:08 remaining.
 
Oswego equalized with a player-up goal with 2:16 left in the frame after a green card by Cortland.
 
Just 1:21 into the fourth quarter, Mitchell gave Cortland an 8-7 advantage. The Lakers quickly scored three straight goals to lead 10-8 with 8:55 remaining, and were able to keep Cortland off the board for the remainder of the contest to secure the win.
 
Oswego 10, Cortland 8

Team                    1-2-3-4  Final
Cortland             1-5-1-1      8
Oswego              3-2-2-3    10

Scoring (Goals-Assists):
Cortland: Ashley Melillo 3-0, Toni Cashman 2-0, Brooke Elizalde 1-1, Mia Mitchell 1-0, Emma Dempsey 1-0, Nicole Iapoce 0-1, Isabel Adams 0-1
Oswego: Madison Davis 3-4, Mackenzie Winn 2-3, Cassidy Crose 3-1, Alexis Hill 1-0, Aubriana Green 1-0

Goalkeepers:
Cortland: Trinity Parks, 4 saves (10 GA in 60:00)
Oswego: Alana Iacovissi, 8 saves (8 GA in 60:00)

Shots: Cortland 26, Oswego 21
Ground Balls: Cortland 16, Oswego 13
Turnovers: Oswego 18, Cortland 12
Caused Turnovers: Cortland 11, Oswego 11 
Clears: Cortland 9-of-9, Oswego 9-of-14
Draw Controls: Oswego 14, Cortland 7
Free Position Shots: Cortland 1-5, Oswego 1-7

Records after game: Cortland (Red Dragons) 6-5, 4-1 SUNYAC; Oswego (Lakers) 9-2, 5-0 SUNYAC