FREDONIA, N.Y. -- Fredonia repeated as Battle By The Lake champs over Buffalo State with a series-clinching women's lacrosee win Tuesday, 11-10.
Trailing 10-7 with just over 13 minutes left, the Blue Devils scored the final four goals -- two by senior
Katie Miller (Hamburg, N.Y./Hamburg) and one each by senior
Juliana Kotas (Lancaster, N.Y./Lancaster) and sophomore
Audrey Yokopovich (Webster, N.Y./Webster Thomas).
Yokopovich's goal with 3:26 left was the game-winner. Miller won the ensuing draw control and later had a groundball pickup as Fredonia kept possession the rest of the way.
The win upped the Blue Devils' record to 6-10 overall and 2-5 in the conference. They still have a chance to finish tied for sixth with Potsdam -- their opponent Saturday on the road -- and Oneonta. That would trigger tiebreakers to determine the final entrant into the six-team SUNYAC Tournament.
The Blue Devils outshot the Bengals 33-18 and had a 16-7 advantage in draw controls. Yokopovich led the offense with five goals. Miller had five draws and freshman
Samantha Spiess (Fairport, N.Y./Penfield) four draws. Yokopovich picked up four groundballs and Miller picked up three. Sophomore goalkeeper
Nicole Burrows (Baldwinsville, N.Y./C.W. Baker) made six saves.
The two points earned in the Battle By The Lake series gave Fredonia an insurmountable five-point lead with only the SUNYAC Outdoor Track & Field championship meet remaining. Fredonia won the inaugural Lake Erie Cup in 2014-15.