Cortland wins 2017 SUNYAC Women's Lacrosse Championship
BROCKPORT, N.Y. - The State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) is proud to announce that the Cortland Red Dragons are the 2017 SUNYAC Women's Lacrosse Champions. On Saturday, Cortland outlasted top-seeded Brockport 12-7 in a rematch from last year's championship match between these two conference foes.
Led by sophomore Carly Stone (4g, 0a), Cortland set an early tone to the game recording four unanswered goals. The Golden Eagles would eventually see the back of the net and went on a 3-1 run of their own. At the break, the Red Dragons led 5-3.
After the teams traded a pair of goals to start the second half, the Red Dragons went on a 3-0 run and ultimately held on to the lead until the final seconds ticked off the clock.
The Red Dragons saw additional top performances from senior Nicole Tortorici (3g, 0a), senior Mackenzie Annable (3g, 0a), and freshman Molly Newton (0g, 3a). The Golden Eagles' efforts were led by sophomore Hannah Cullen (3g, 0a), senior Kelly Wall (0g, 2a), and sophomore Heather Conklin (2g, 0a).
Although Brockport led by a large margin in both Shots (42-25) and Shots on Goal (25-18), Cortland's senior goalkeeper Jaclyn Beshlian stood tall, recording 18 saves on the day. Cortland freshman Lexie Meager led the team with seven of the team's 12 Draw Controls, while Brockport's Wall recorded four of the team's nine Draw Controls.
Cortland claimed their 26th overall and 20th consecutive SUNYAC Championship dating back to 1999. This is Head Coach Kelly Lickert-Orr's third title under the helm of the Red Dragons. As a result, the Red Dragons clinch the conference's automatic bid to the 2017 NCAA Division III Women's Lacrosse Tournament.
On Friday, a pregame ceremony took place awarding the 2017 SUNYAC Women's Lacrosse Elite 20 award winners. The Elite 20 Award honors an individual student-athlete with the highest cumulative grade point average competing at the finals site of each of its 20 championships. This year, both Oneonta's Melissa Marry and Jaclyn Marry were honored with the Elite 20 award.
On Saturday, during postgame ceremonies the SUNYAC Women's Lacrosse Championship All-Tournament Team was announced.
| 2017 SUNYAC Women's Lacrosse All-Tournament Team | ||||
| Geneseo | Karen Boronczyk | Jr. | Midfield | |
| Oneonta | Kelsey Cohen | So. | Attack | |
| Brockport | Tess Knight | Jr. | Midfield | |
| Brockport | Heather Conklin | So. | Midfield | |
| Brockport | Cassandra Minerd | Sr. | Defense | |
| Brockport | Kelly Wall | Sr. | Attack | |
| Cortland | Molly Newton | Fr. | Attack | |
| Cortland | Mackenzie Annable | Sr. | Attack | |
| Cortland | Kristen Ohberg | Sr. | Attack | |
| Cortland | Nicolette Tortorici | Sr. | Midfield | |
| Cortland | Carly Stone | So. | Midfield | |
| Cortland | MVP - Jaclyn Beshlian | Sr. | Goalie | |
