Box Score CORTLAND, NY – Gianna Cirilla (Pattersonville/Schalmont) netted her first collegiate hat trick to lift the Cortland women's soccer team to a 5-0 home victory over Plattsburgh in the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) finale on Saturday afternoon.
 
Cortland improves to 11-3-2 (7-0-1 SUNYAC), while Plattsburgh drops to 9-3-4 (6-1-1 SUNYAC). With the victory, Cortland secured the top seed in the upcoming SUNYAC tournament and will have home-field advantage throughout the conference championships.
 
Cirilla's three goals came on a team-high five shots on goal. It is also the fourth consecutive game that Cirilla scored for the Red Dragons, and her 10th goal in the last seven contests. Tyla Vuotto (Lynbrook) had a goal and two assists for Cortland, and Leah Rehm (East Syracuse/East Syracuse-Minoa) added three assists. Haley Loscalzo (East Northport/Commack) scored her fifth goal of the year.
 
Olivia Rouse (Springfield, VA/West Springfield) recorded three saves in goal for the shutout victory for Cortland.
 
Desiree DuBois recorded six saves for Plattsburgh, and Lilley Keyser had two of the Cardinals' three shots on goal.
 
Cortland had an early opportunity to take the lead in the fifth minute. Cirilla collected a pass in front of the Plattsburgh goal and had an initial shot blocked by a Cardinal defender, and then saw her follow-up attempt flash just wide of the left post.
 
Plattsburgh nearly capitalized on its first shot attempt in the 12th minute. Keyser fired a shot from distance that Rouse parried, and the Cortland defense cleared the danger before anyone could pounce on the rebound.
 
Cirilla scored a spectacular goal for the opener in the 22nd minute to give Cortland the lead. A free kick was played inside the 18-yard area, but couldn't be cleared by the Plattsburgh defense. Vuotto reacted first and popped a pass to the right side, where Cirilla volleyed a right-footed shot into the left corner of the net.
 
In the 43rd minute, Piper Klammer (Mahopac) made a solo run through the Plattsburgh defense, but a last-ditch defensive effort knocked the ball away to keep the Red Dragons' lead at just one into halftime.    
 
Cortland scored two goals in the span of just 22 seconds early in the second half to take control of the contest. After a foul on Plattsburgh just outside the 18-yard area, Loscalzo stepped up and rifled a right-footed shot into the top of the goal to make it 2-0. Almost immediately after the restart, Vuotto fed Rehm down the right side, who whipped in a cross for a header into the bottom right corner of the goal by Cirilla for her second tally of the game.
 
Cirilla netted her third goal of the game, and 15th goal of the season in the 62nd minute. Rehm slipped a pass behind the Plattsburgh defense to Cirilla, who had timed her run perfectly to stay onside, and Cirilla then finished brilliantly into the bottom left corner.
 
Vuotto wrapped up the scoring for the Red Dragons in the 75th minute for the 5-0 final score. Cortland floated the ball into the Plattsburgh box and the Cardinals could only partially clear the ball away. Rehm reacted and floated a header towards the end line on the right side, where Vuotto flicked a right-footed shot from a tight angle into the bottom left corner just inside the post.
 
The Cortland defense allowed just two shot attempts, and did not allow a shot on goal, in the second half to secure the win.