CORTLAND, NY – The Cortland women's lacrosse used a 16-1 spurt in the second and third quarters to pull away with a 21-6 victory over Canton in the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) regular-season finale on Wednesday evening on Grady Field. Cortland improves to 10-6 (8-1 SUNYAC), while Canton drops to 7-9 (3-6 SUNYAC).
 
Cortland earned a first-round bye in the SUNYAC Tournament, and will host the winner of the New Paltz-Fredonia next Wednesday in the semifinals.

Nicole Iapoce (Clintondale/Highland) led Cortland with seven points on three goals and four assists. Ashley Melillo (Massapequa) chipped in two goals and three assists, and Emma Dempsey (Brewerton/Paul V. Moore) added four goals.
 
Toni Cashman (East Moriches/Westhampton Beach) provided two goals, two assists, and two caused turnovers, while Caroline Cox (Marcellus/Christian Brothers Academy) had three caused turnovers and two ground balls. Trinity Parks (Port Crane/Chenango Forks) made six saves to earn the win in goal.
 
Canton was led by Lindsey Wunder, who had two goals and three assists. Maddy Caron scored twice and added an assist. Olivia Scott made 17 saves in goal over 45:00 of action.
 
The Roos struck first on a free-position goal by Caron just under two minutes into the first quarter. Dempsey responded with two straight goals for the Red Dragons in under two minutes of game action, giving Cortland a slim 2-1 advantage after one quarter of play.
 
The Red Dragons scored the first six goals of the second quarter by six different players. Melillo, Isabel Adams (Burnt Hills/Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake), Dempsey, Gemma Guy (Homer/Tully), Iapoce, and Mia Mitchell (Akwesasne/The Hill Academy) each found the back of the net to make it 8-1.
 
After Canton scored a goal by Wunder with 2:18 left in the half, Dempsey restored a seven-goal lead for Cortland with 16 seconds remaining. Taylor Mullins (Penn Yan/Penn Yan Academy) picked up the ensuing draw control, and Cashman netted her first goal of the game with seven seconds left.
 
The Red Dragons scored all eight goals in the third quarter, with Iapoce scoring twice and Cashman, Bella Dembinski (Holbrook/Sachem East), Guy, Melillo, Mitchell, and Kristen Javenes (North Rockland) all netting a goal.
 
Canton scored the opening goal of the fourth quarter just 1:34 into the frame, but Cortland responded with three straight goals. Dembinski scored a player-down goal for the Red Dragons, taking a pass from Parks near midfield and sprinting towards goal before firing a shot low into the net. Brooke Elizalde (Ronkonkoma/Connetquot) scored her 20th goal of the season, and Alyssa Leotta (Dix Hills/Half Hollow Hills West) completed the Red Dragon scoring with a goal off a feed from Elizalde.
 
The Roos scored the final three goals of the contest in the last four minutes of the game.
 
Cortland 21, Canton 6

Team                    1-2-3-4  Final
Cortland             2-8-8-3    21
Canton                1-1-0-4      6

Scoring (Goals-Assists):
Cortland: Nicole Iapoce 3-4, Ashley Melillo 2-3, Emma Dempsey 4-0, Toni Cashman 2-2, Gemma Guy 2-1, Brooke Elizalde 1-2  Mia Mitchell 2-0, Bella Dembinski 2-0, Kristen Javenes 1-1, Isabel Adams 1-1, Alyssa Leotta 1-0
Canton: Lindsey Wunder 2-3, Maddy Caron 2-1, Caroline Nappi 1-0, Olivia McCormick 1-0

Goalkeepers:
Cortland: Trinity Parks, 6 saves (3 GA in 55:56); Aislynn Cobb, 0 saves (3 GA in 4:04)
Canton: Olivia Scott, 17 saves (18 GA in 45:00); Laura Falandys, 4 saves (3 GA in 15:00)

Shots: Cortland 49, Canton 23
Ground Balls: Cortland 30, Canton 16
Turnovers: Canton 26, Cortland 13
Caused Turnovers: Cortland 16, Canton 5 
Clears: Cortland 17-of-22, Morrisville 11-of-21
Draw Controls: Cortland 16, Canton 14
Free Position Shots: Canton 1-5, Cortland 1-6

Records after game: Cortland (Red Dragons) 10-6, 8-1 SUNYAC; Canton (Roos) 7-9, 3-6 SUNYAC