BOXSCORE CORTLAND, N.Y. -- Fredonia State fell to Geneseo, 12-9, in the SUNYAC Tournament women's lacrosse semifinal Friday afternoon at SUNY Cortland.
The Blue Devils trailed 8-4 midway through the second half before rallying to within one goal with 15:06 left. Turnovers on their next two possessions preceded two consecutive goals by Geneseo to derail the comeback.
Marissa Cussins (Jr.; Corning, N.Y.) had four goals while
Emily Polizzi (Fr.; Rushville, N.Y.),
Kristie Kleine (Fr.; Cazenovia),
Katie Glagolev (Jr.; Webster, N.Y.),
Katie Kleine (Jr.; Cazenovia, N.Y.), and
Sam Owen (Fr.; Horseheads, N.Y.) had one goal each.
Kristie Kleine also had three assists.
Katey Hart, Emily Haggerty, and Liz Felix had three goals each for Geneseo, who outshot the Blue Devils 33-18. Blue Devil goalkeeper
Jessica Zagari (Fr.; Rochester, N.Y.) was credited with 14 saves.
The Blue Devils held leads of 1-0 and 2-1 in the first half on goals by Cussins. Geneseo grabbed a 3-2 lead before Cussins scored again to forge a 3-3 tie. Geneseo recaptured the lead on a pair of goals by Haggerty before Polizzi scored to cut the margin to 5-4. Felix closed out the first half with a free-position goal with :15 seconds left in the half for a 6-4 Geneseo lead.
Felix's goal followed by Hart and another by Felix resulted in a 3-0 run by Geneseo and a four-goal deficit from which Fredonia State tried, yet was unable to recover. Geneseo had a 13-10 edge in draw controls and a 19-13 advantage in ground balls.
Glagolev was Fredonia State's field leader with four ground balls and two caused turnovers.
Mary Bruton (Sr.; Palmyra, N.Y.) also had two caused turnovers. Cussins was credited with four draw controls..
The loss dropped the Blue to 11-6 heading into NCAA Division III tournament selection on Sunday night. They entered the week ranked No. 3 in the regional poll, which still gives them an outside shot of landing an at-large bid.
Geneseo improved to 16-1 and advanced to the SUNYAC championship game noon Saturday vs. unbeaten Cortland (18-0). The teams are ranked No. 8 and No. 1, respectively, in the latest NCAA Division III poll overseen by the Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association.
