BUFFALO, NY – Nicole Iapoce (Clintondale/Highland) had an eight-point game to lead the Cortland women's lacrosse team to a 19-7 victory on the road at Buffalo State in State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) play on Friday evening. Cortland improves to 9-6 (7-1 SUNYAC), while Buffalo State falls to 11-5 (5-3 SUNYAC).
 
With other results around the SUNYAC this evening, Cortland clinched the second seed and a first-round bye in the upcoming SUNYAC Tournament.
 
Iapoce had four goals and four assists in the contest, while also adding four caused turnovers and five ground balls. Toni Cashman (East Moriches/Westhampton Beach) contributed three goals and two assists, and scooped up four ground balls. Ashley Melillo (Massapequa) netted four goals, had three caused turnovers, and picked up two ground balls. 
 
Rachel Rempe (Aquebogue/Riverhead) collected six draw controls and three ground balls. Lexi Caron (Manlius/Fayetteville-Manlius) had three caused turnovers, two draw controls, and four ground balls. Trinity Parks (Port Crane/Chenango Forks) made six saves in goal for the Red Dragons. 
 
Buffalo State was led by Vanessa Willick, who scored three goals and had 13 draw controls. Emilee Josker added two goals, one draw control, and two ground balls. Brielle Lum made 14 saves in goal for the Bengals.
 
Cortland scored the first five goals of the game and led 6-2 after one quarter. Gemma Guy (Homer/Tully) netted her 19th goal of the year off a feed from Iapoce just over a minute into the contest. Melillo added two straight goals, one on a free-position shot and another on an assist from Cashman. 
 
Iapoce and Cashman each got on the board with a goal to make it 5-0 with 5:10 remaining, before Buffalo State scored two free-position goals to reduce the deficit to 5-2. In the final minute of the quarter, Iapoce netted her second goal of the game to put Cortland up by four.
 
Five players scored a goal in the second quarter for Cortland, extending the lead to seven at halftime. Melillo netted her third goal of the game just over a minute into the second quarter, and a goal by Willick made it 7-3. The Red Dragons then scored the next four goals, one each by Brooke Elizalde (Ronkonkoma/Connetquot), Iapoce, Emma Dempsey (Brewerton/Paul V. Moore), and Cashman. Willick scored her second goal of the game for the Bengals with 19 seconds left in the half for an 11-4 deficit for the hosts. 
 
Buffalo State committed 16 turnovers in the first half, while Cortland allowed the Bengals to clear successfully on just 3-of-10 attempts in the half. 
 
Each team scored twice in the third quarter, including Caroline Cox's (Marcellus/CBA) first collegiate goal, and Cortland led 13-6 heading into the fourth quarter. 
 
The Red Dragons scored the first six goals of the final quarter with six different players scoring. Melillo found the back of the net for the fourth time 51 seconds into the quarter, and Cashman followed with her third goal of the game a minute later. Elizalde scored for the second time in the game to put Cortland up 10 with 11:16 remaining. 
 
Kristen Javenes (North Rockland), Isabel Adams (Burnt Hills/Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake), and Cali Brancato (Liverpool) finished off the scoring for Cortland, and Josker scored her second goal of the game for Buffalo State for the final tally with 2:49 remaining.  
 
Cortland 19, Buffalo State 7

Team                    1-2-3-4  Final
Cortland               6-5-2-6    19
Buffalo State       2-2-2-1      7

Scoring (Goals-Assists):
Cortland: Nicole Iapoce 4-4, Toni Cashman 3-2, Ashley Melillo 4-0, Brooke Elizalde 2-1, Bella Dembinski 0-2, Gemma Guy 1-0, Emma Dempsey 1-0, Kristen Javenes 1-0, Caroline Cox 1-0, Isabel Adams 1-0, Cali Brancato 1-0, Natalie Bennett 0-1 
Buffalo State: Vanessa Willick 3-0, Emilee Josker 2-0, Lauren Rinow 1-1, Sage Running Rabbit 1-1

Goalkeepers:
Cortland: Trinity Parks, 6 saves (6 GA in 53:43); Aislynn Cobb, 3 saves (1 GA in 6:17)
Buffalo State: Brielle Lum, 14 saves (18 GA in 53:43); Moira Penot, 0 saves (1 GA in 6:17) 

Shots: Cortland 43, Buffalo State 18
Ground Balls: Cortland 32, Buffalo State 28
Turnovers: Buffalo State 30, Cortland 15
Caused Turnovers: Cortland 16, Buffalo State 5
Clears: Cortland 14-of-19, Buffalo State 7-of-19
Draw Controls: Buffalo State 16, Cortland 14
Free Position Shots: Cortland 2-5, Buffalo State 3-5

Records after game: Cortland (Red Dragons) 9-6, 7-1 SUNYAC; Buffalo State (Bengals) 11-5, 5-3 SUNYAC