CORTLAND, N.Y. – The nationally fourth-ranked Cortland women's lacrosse team broke open a tight game by closing the first half with six straight goals and went on to defeat The College at Brockport, 14-6, in the championship game of the SUNYAC Tournament Saturday afternoon at the Stadium Complex. The Red Dragons won their 16th consecutive game, improving to 18-1 on the season, and captured their 13th consecutive conference title and automatic NCAA Div. III playoff berth. The Golden Eagles fell to 10-6 with the loss.

Sophomore Tournament Most Valuable Player Mary Hartzheim (Manlius/Fayetteville-Manlius) led all scorers with four goals for Cortland. Junior Erin Kollar (East Islip) recorded three goals and an assist, freshman Taylor Reh (Miller Place) tallied three goals and freshman Ashley Cook (Commack) had a game-high seven points on two goals and five assists. 

Junior Lindsay Abbott (South Onondaga/Onondaga Central) registered three points on one goal and two assists to set a Cortland single-season record for points. Abbott now has 110 points on 49 goals and a school-record 61 assists, besting the mark of 108 points established by Danielle Torre during the 2009 season. Sophomore Maria Di Fato (Camillus/West Genesee) added one goal and one assist and junior Jordan Miller (Liverpool) chipped in with one assist. Sophomore goalie Ally Levy (Reisterstown, MD/Seton Keough) made five saves.

Juniors Carly Motondo (Syracuse/West Genesee) and Dayna Piraino (Syracuse/Heninger) each scored three points for Brockport. Motondo had two goals and an assist, while Piraino contributed one goal and two assists. Junior Karen Bianchi (Syracuse/West Genesee) and freshman Alyssa Scordo (Watertown/South Jefferson) picked up one goal and one assist apiece, and sophomore Sarah Brown (Syracuse/West Genesee) scored once. Senior goalie Jamie Kaminsky (Oakdale/Sayville) stopped six shots.

Cortland jumped out to an early 3-0 lead as Cook assisted goals by Hartzheim at 29 minutes, 12 seconds and Reh at 27:23, and Reh added her second at 24:37. The Golden Eagles answered with back-to-back scores from Scordo at 20:21 and Piraino at 17:03 to make it a 3-2 game. From that point, the Red Dragons took control of the half with their six-goal run that gave them a 9-2 lead at the break. Hartzheim scored three times and Kollar, Di Fato and Cook each netted a goal.

Brockport started the second half with a mini-run of its own to climb back into the game. Brown, Bianchi and Motondo scored consecutive goals to cut the deficit to 9-5 with 21:59 remaining. The Red Dragons responded with a game-clinching four-goal streak to increase their lead to 13-5 at the 14:46 mark. Abbott scored off a Cook assist at 21:32 and collected her record-setting 109th point of the season with an assist on Reh's third goal of the game at 20:09. Cook and Kollar then each added a goal. Motondo netted Brockport's final goal at 13:01 before Kollar finished off the scoring with her third of the game at 10:40. Cortland was able to control possession for the majority of the time in the closing minutes to seal the win.

Joining Hartzheim on the All-Tournament team were Miller, Kollar, Cook and senior Melissa Kane (Syracuse/Cicero-North Syracuse) from Cortland; Bianchi, senior Amanda Massmann (Bohemia/Connetquot) and sophomore Kaila Maguire (Potsdam) from Brockport; juniors Jamie Handley (Auburn) and Mariah DeBolt (Waterloo) from Buffalo St.; and sophomore Rachel Petrone (Rochester/Penfield) and freshman Emily Haggerty (Syracuse/Westhill) from Geneseo.

GAME SUMMARY:

Team                              1-2    Final
Brockport (10-6)            2-4       6
Cortland (17-1)              9-5     14

Scoring (Goals-Assists):
Brockport: Carly Motondo 2-1, Daina Piraino 1-2, Alyssa Scoro 1-1, Karen Bianchi 1-1, Sarah Brown 1-0
Cortland: Mary Hartzheim 4-0, Erin Kollar 3-1, Taylor Reh 3-0, Ashley Cook 2-5, Lindsay Abbott 1-2, Maria Di Fato 1-1, Jordan Miller 0-1
Goalkeepers:

Brockport: Jamie Kaminsky, 6 saves (14 GA in 60:00)
Cortland: Ally Levy, 5 saves (6 GA in 60:00)

Shots: Cortland 26, Brockport 24
Ground Balls: Cortland 17, Brockport 15
Clears: Cortland 17-of-19, Brockport 12-of-17 
Draw Controls: Brockport 13, Cortland 9
Caused Turnovers: Cortland 10, Brockport 6
Turnovers: Brockport 16, Cortland 12
Fouls: Cortland 31, Brockport 21