CORTLAND, NY – The Cortland women's lacrosse team used a six-goal run in a 12-minute span in the second half to earn a come-from-behind 10-7 victory over New Paltz in State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) action on Saturday at Grady Field. Cortland celebrated its three seniors, Nicole Iapoce (Clintondale/Highland), Isabel Adams (Burnt Hills/Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake), and Gemma Guy (Homer/Tully), in a Senior Day ceremony prior to the contest. The Red Dragons have won four straight games and are 6-4 (4-0 SUNYAC), while New Paltz drops to 8-3 (3-1 SUNYAC).
 
Iapoce led Cortland with two goals and three assists, while Emma Dempsey (Brewerton/Paul V. Moore) and Brooke Elizalde (Ronkonkoma/Connetquot) both contributed two goals. Toni Cashman (East Moriches/Westhampton Beach) scored a goal and an assist, and added four draw controls, while Chelsey Weber (Holtsville/Sachem East) chipped in a goal and an assist.
 
Emma Pagano (Oceanside) had four caused turnovers and scooped up one ground ball. Trinity Parks (Port Crane/Chenango Forks) made five saves in goal for the win. Ashley Melillo (Massapequa) scored a goal, added three caused turnovers, and picked up two ground balls, and Guy also scored a goal for the host Red Dragons. Rachel Rempe (Aquebogue/Riverhead) recorded five draw controls.
 
Morgan Atwater and Kaitlyn Shaw both scored twice for New Paltz, and Piper Mascaros made nine saves in goal for the Hawks.
 
New Paltz scored the first two goals of the contest, one by Kira Tucker just 2:03 into the contest and another goal by Lexi Atwater 43 seconds later. Parks and the Cortland defense were able to keep New Paltz off the scoreboard for the remainder of the half to keep the Red Dragons in the game.
 
Cortland got its first goal with under five minutes remaining on a lucky deflection. Cashman delivered what appeared to be a pass to Elizalde in front of the crease. The ball deflected off the stick of Elizalde and into the back of the net for Elizalde's 13th goal of the year.
 
Cortland tied the score at 2-2 early in the second quarter, as Iapoce fired a pass to Dempsey inside the 12-meter fan for a low shot into the corner of the net.
 
Cortland took its first lead of the contest with 7:03 remaining in the half, as Dempsey scored on a free-position shot from the right side between the goalie's legs.
 
The score stayed 3-2 into halftime, as both teams had chances to find the back of the net, but were unable to.
 
The Hawks scored twice early in the third quarter to re-gain a 4-3 lead with one goal by Shaw and another by Mia Baldinger. Cortland responded with five goals in a row to end the quarter, and another goal early in the fourth quarter for a 9-4 lead.
 
Iapoce knotted the score and then gave Cortland the lead with two nearly identical goals in the span of 1:08, cutting from the left side and bouncing a shot past the New Paltz goalie on each of the goals.  
 
Guy scored a goal with 6:16 remaining to add to the Cortland lead, picking up a loose ball in front of goal and scoring with only one second left on the shot clock. Elizalde scored for the second time in the game off an assist from Iapoce, and Cashman scored her first goal of the game, assisted by Weber, with 3:35 left in the third quarter.  
 
Melillo extended the Cortland lead to 9-4 with 13:56 remaining in the fourth quarter off of a feed from Iapoce. Lexi Atwater scored a goal for New Paltz to stop the run, but Weber re-established a five-goal lead for Cortland with 4:32 remaining.
 
The Hawks netted a pair of goals in the final minute of play to make the final score 10-7, but the Red Dragons were able to comfortably secure the victory.
 
Cortland 10, New Paltz 7

Team                    1-2-3-4  Final
Cortland             1-2-5-2   10
New Paltz            2-0-2-3    7

Scoring (Goals-Assists):
Cortland: Nicole Iapoce 2-3, Brooke Elizalde 2-0, Emma Dempsey 2-0, Toni Cashman 1-1, Chelsey Weber 1-1, Ashley Melillo 1-0, Gemma Guy 1-0
New Paltz: Morgan Atwater 2-0, Kaitlyn Shaw 2-0, Mia Baldinger 1-1, Lexi Atwater 1-0, Kira Tucker 1-0, Ava Padilla 0-1

Goalkeepers:
Cortland: Trinity Parks 5 saves (7 GA in 60:00)
New Paltz: Piper Mascaros 9 saves (10 GA in 60:00)

Shots: Cortland 27, New Paltz 15
Ground Balls: Cortland 21, New Paltz 15
Turnovers: New Paltz 23, Cortland 22
Caused Turnovers: Cortland 17, New Paltz 13 
Clears: Cortland 21-of-24, Oneonta 17-of-23
Draw Controls: Cortland 11, New Paltz 8
Free Position Shots: Cortland 1-3, New Paltz 2-5

Records after game: Cortland (Red Dragons) 6-4, 4-0 SUNYAC; New Paltz (Hawks) 8-3, 3-1 SUNYAC