ONEONTA, N.Y. – Host Hartwick College scored three goals down the stretch and pulled away from visiting Morrisville State College women's lacrosse, netting a 17-12 non-conference win over the Mustangs, for their first of the season, Thursday afternoon in Oneonta.
The Hawks pull their record even at 1-1, while Morrisville State drops to 0-4.
Junior Courtney Cavellier (Rodman, N.Y.) led the Mustang efforts with four goals, adding a game high 11 draw controls and team best eight ground balls. Two of her tallies came in the second half, including one minutes in to spark a three goal rally.
Sophomore Chelsea McNeal (Ithaca, N.Y.) added two to go with an assist, along with teammates Melissa Lucciola (Monroe, N.Y.) and Jillian Hughes (Brookfield, N.Y.) who notched two scores apiece.
Gianna Branca (Camillus, N.Y.) posted a goal and two assists for a three point outing, as fellow senior Brianna DelColle (Huntington, N.Y.) rounded out Mustang scoring with a goal.
Marissa Woodard (Unadilla, N.Y.) recorded three saves in the loss, before being relieved by Sara Gelster (Hamburg, N.Y.) for the final 30 minutes of action. Gelster made six stops.
Hartwick led 9-5 after the opening half, before a Cavellier tally just over two minutes into the second half sparked a three goal Mustang run to cut the Hawk lead to one with 25 minutes remaining.
Both teams exchanged scores over the ensuing 10 minutes of action until the 12:38 mark when the hosts posted back to back tallies to extend their lead to three.
An unassisted goal by Lucciola cut the lead to two with 6:18 to go, but Hartwick added three more in the closing three minutes, including two scores with the man-advantage, to pull away for the non-league win.
Lexi Firkins (Brockport, N.Y.) paced the Mustang defense with three caused turnovers, adding six ground balls. DelColle contributed to Morrisville State's dominance at the center circle, collecting seven, as the Mustangs outgained Hartwick 22-9 in draw controls.
Morrisville State returns to the field Saturday, hosting Potsdam at 1 p.m. on Drake Field for their home opener.
Morrisville State College's curricula are enriched with applied learning and pave the way for opportunity at both the Morrisville and Norwich campuses. An action-oriented, interactive learning lab, the college is a national leader in technology and has been lauded for its exemplary, innovative and effective community service programs.
The college was ranked among the Best Regional Colleges in the North by U.S. News & World Report Best Colleges 2018 issue and was also recognized in the Top Public Schools, Regional Colleges North in the 2018 Best Colleges rankings. For more information about Morrisville State College, visit www.morrisville.edu.
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