Cortland women's lacrosse advances in NCAA tournament

CORTLAND, N.Y. – The nationally top-ranked Cortland women's lacrosse team held Keene St. scoreless for the first 57 minutes, 40 seconds of the game and opened NCAA play with a 17-1 victory in the second round of the 2016 Div. III Women's Lacrosse Tournament. The Red Dragons improved to 19-0 with the win, while the Owls ended their season at 12-8.

For Cortland, junior Kristen Ohberg (Brewster) recorded a game-high five points on five assists to become just the fifth player in program history to eclipse 100 points in a season. Ohberg enters third round action with 103 points on 52 goals and 51 assists.

Senior Elizabeth LaComb (Syracuse/West Genesee) and sophomore Hannah Elmer (Syracuse/West Genesee) each tallied three goals and one assist and senior Ashley Gentile (Baldwinsville/C.W. Baker) also scored three times for the Red Dragons. Senior Tara Monaghan (Stony Point/North Rockland) and junior Allyson McNerney (Tully) recorded two goals and one assist apiece.

Sophomore Katie Wolfe (East Amherst/Williamsville North) had one goal and two assists, and junior Makenzie Annable (Navarino/Onondaga) and freshmen Carly Stone (Syracuse/Jamesville-DeWitt) and Madison Lyon (Tully) each netted a goal. Senior Nicole Bello (Camillus/West Genesee) contributed three assists, senior Elise Bennett (Webster/Webster Thomas) recorded two assists and junior Kaitlin Antelmi (Bridgeport/Chittenango) chipped in with one assist as Cortland assisted on all 17 of its goals.

Junior goalie Jaclyn Beshlian (Wantagh) made two saves and did not allow a goal in 38:45 for Cortland. Junior Victoria Fusco (Watertown/Immaculate Heart) stopped one shot in 11:05, and senior Liz Ingalls (Centerport/St. Anthony's) turned aside one shot in 10:10. Monaghan totaled four ground balls and three caused turnovers, Gentile registered three ground balls, three draw controls and three caused turnovers and Wolfe added three ground balls.

Erin Wolstenholme (right) went 3-for-3 vs. Rowan and hit a two-run homer vs. Castleton, while Rosie Phillips (left) drove in two runs against Castleton on Saturday (photo courtesy of Darl Zehr Photography)
Erin Wolstenholme (right) went 3-for-3 vs. Rowan and hit a two-run homer vs. Castleton, while Rosie Phillips (left) drove in two runs against Castleton on Saturday (photo courtesy of Darl Zehr Photography)
Sophomore Taylor Farland (Fiskdale, MA/Tantasqua) scored the lone goal for Keene St. Junior goalie Alison Argiro (Hingham, MA) made 10 saves in the first half before giving way to freshman Anna O'Brien (Winchester, MA), who stopped four shots in the second half.

Senior Kaitlin Nolan (Mahopac) won three draws for the Owls. Junior Amanda Makar (Yorktown) secured three ground balls and caused three turnovers, junior Gretchen Faulstich (Hanover, MA) scooped up five ground balls and Farland recorded three ground balls.

Gentile gave Cortland the lead at 27:16, and the score remained 1-0 until the Red Dragons put together a five-goal burst in less than five minutes to take a 6-0 lead with 13:39 left in the half. Gentile scored twice and Ohberg collected three assists during the run. The Red Dragons closed the half with four more goals for a 10-0 lead as LaComb registered two goals and an assist.

Cortland gradually stretched its lead throughout the second half, building a 17-0 advantage at 9:13, as the bench emptied. McNerney and Wolfe each recorded her three points in the half for the Red Dragons. Farland broke the drought for Keene St. with a free-positioin goal at the 2:20 mark for the 17-1 final.

Cortland 17, Keene St. 1

GAME SUMMARY:

Team 1-2 Final
Keene St. 0-1 1
Cortland 10-7 17

Scoring (Goals-Assists):
Keene St.: Taylor Farland 1-0
Cortland: Hannah Elmer 3-1, Elizabeth LaComb 3-1, Ashley Gentile 3-0, Tara Monaghan 2-1, Allyson McNerney 2-1, Katie Wolfe 1-2, Carly Stone 1-0, Makenzie Annable 1-0, Madison Lyon 1-0, Kristen Ohberg 0-5, Nicole Bello 0-3, Elise Bennett 0-2, Kaitlin Antelmi 0-1

Goalkeepers:
Keene St.: Alison Argiro, 10 saves (10 GA in 30:00), Anna O'Brien, 4 saves (7 GA in 30:00)
Cortland: Jaclyn Beshlian, 2 saves (0 GA in 38:45), Victoria Fusco, 1 save (0 GA in 11:05), Liz Ingalls, 1 save (1 GA in 10:10)

Shots: Cortland 40, Keene St. 8
Ground Balls: Cortland 27, Keene St. 18
Clears: Cortland 13-of-14, Keene St. 8-of-25
Draw Controls: Cortland 13, Keene St. 7
Caused Turnovers: Cortland 15, Keene St. 8
Turnovers: Keene St. 25, Cortland 16

Records after game: Cortland (Red Dragons) 19-0 (ranked 1st nationally in Div. III); Keene St. (Owls) 12-8