(BOX SCORE)

BUFFALO, NY—Cortland (13-6), ranked 19th nationally, defeated No. 18 Buffalo State (16-2), 11-8, to claim its 11th consecutive SUNYAC Championship today at Coyer Field, snapping the Bengals' 16-game winning streak. With the victory, Cortland captures an automatic berth in the NCAA Division III playoffs.

Lindsay Abbott (S. Onondaga/Onondaga) led Cortland with five goals. Danielle Torre (Massapequa/Massapequa) had three goals and an assist, and Jess Fritz (Baldwinsville/CW Baker), Brianna Shost (Mahopac/Mahopac) and Nicki Mahoney (Canandaigua/Canandaigua Acad.) added single markers for the Red Dragons.

Katie Henderson (Hamburg/Frontier) led Buffalo State with three goals, and Kendyl Clarkson (Painted Post/Corning West) had a goal and three assists. Karen Shaddock (Corning/Corning East), Mariah DeBolt (Waterloo/Waterloo), Jennifer Tierney (Massapequa/Massapequa) and Brittany Nagowski (Lancaster/Lancaster) also scored. Ashley O'Brien (Honeoye Falls/Honeoye Falls-Lima) made 12 saves for Buffalo State.

Cortland never trailed, leading 3-1 early, and extending the advantage to 7-4 at the half. The Red Dragons pushed the advantage to 10-5, before the Bengals scored three straight to get back in the game, but Cortland scored the only goal in the final 17 minutes. The Red Dragons outshot the Bengals, 31-20, and had a 20-7 edge in ground balls. 

Buffalo State will wait for the selection committee to reveal the brackets late tomorrow night to see if it will earn an at-large berth into the NCAA tournament.

Tournament MVP: Lindsay Abbott (Cortland)
All-Tournament Team: Jess Fritz (Cortland), Lindsay Bakker (Cortland), Danielle Torre (Cortland), Anna Fahey (Cortland), Katie Henderson (Buffalo State), Ashley O'Brien (Buffalo State), Mariah DeBolt (Buffalo State), Laura Kitts (Geneseo), Cat Sligar (Geneseo), Rosemarie Fazio (Oneonta), Michelle Symons (Oneonta)