Jessica Welsh finished with a goal and two assists (Darl Zehr Photography)
OSWEGO, N.Y. – Cortland jumped out to a 4-0 halftime lead and the Red Dragons defeated host Oswego, 7-2, in a SUNYAC field hockey contest.
Cortland improved to 10-3 overall with its fifth straight win, and the Red Dragons are 3-1 and tied for second in the SUNYAC. Oswego dropped to 5-4 overall and 2-1 in the league.
Jess Gibaldi (Westbury/W.T. Clarke) led Cortland with two goals and Jessica Welsh (Hamilton) recorded a goal and two assists. Megan O'Brien (Carmel), Hannah Burchell (Whitney Point), Kelly Durso (East Islip) and Anna Branch (Clifton Park/Shenendehowa) netted one goal apiece.
Kailynne Reinoehl (Lititz, PA/Warwick) made one save and did not allow any goals in 50 minutes, 21 seconds as Cortland's starting goalie.
For Oswego, Theresa Glynn and Kathleen Little scored goals in the final five minutes. Sarita Charap finished with seven saves.
Burchell opened the scoring just 3:04 into the contest with a goal off her own rebound for her eighth score of the season, and O'Brien extended the lead to 2-0 in the 10th minute after knocking home a rebound. Welsh buried a shot from the top of the circle with 14:44 left in the half, and she assisted on Gibaldi's first goal less than three minutes later to put Cortland up 4-0.
Cortland quickly pushed its lead to 6-0 with two goals in the first six minutes of the second half. Branch tallied her eighth goal of the season 4:33 into the half, and Gibaldi, off a Welsh pass, connected for her second of the game and team-high 10th of the season 1:26 later. Durso beat a defender 1-on-1 with 18:29 remaining to finish Cortland's scoring.
Oswego broke up Cortland's shutout bid with 4:52 remaining on Glynn's goal, assisted by Little, and Little scored unassisted with 1:42 left to create the final margin.
Cortland will host St. John Fisher on Saturday at noon in a non-league contest.
Cortland 7, Oswego 2
Scoring Summary (Goals-Assists):
Cortland: Jess Gibaldi 2-0, Jessica Welsh 1-2, Megan O'Brien 1-0, Hannah Burchell 1-0, Kelly Durso 1-0, Anna Branch 1-0
Oswego: Kathleen Little 1-1, Theresa Glynn 1-0
Halftime: Cortland 4, Oswego 0
Shots: Cortland 23, Oswego 6
Penalty Corners: Cortland 8, Oswego 6
Saves: Kailynne Reinoehl (Cortland) 1 (0 GA in 50:21), Marissa D'Amico (Cortland) 0 (2 GA in 19:39); Sarita Charap (Oswego) 7 (7 GA in 70:00)
Records after game: Cortland (Red Dragons) 10-3, 3-1 SUNYAC; Oswego (Lakers) 5-4, 2-1 SUNYAC
