Women's lacrosse suffers frustrating loss to Cortland
By Jim Krencik
Sports Editor
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The Cortland Defense Stifled Brockport's offense late, keeping the Golden Eagles out of the net in the game's final 15 minutes. (Photo By Jim Krencik) |
The College at Brockport women’s lacrosse team blew a late lead, sending the Cortland Red Dragons celebrating and the Golden Eagles into revenge mode.
Cortland scored the game’s final four goals after trailing for most of the second half, negating what had been a successful run by Brockport.
The Golden Eagles led by as many as three goals in the final half, after a newfound level of composure brought Brockport back from an early 7-3 deficit.
“We had to get our nervousness out,” Brockport head coach Traci Lian said of her team’s early miscues.
With their backs against the wall and their nerves calmed, the Golden Eagles took off, going on a 9-2 run that started with the final four goals of the first half. Lexie Goodhart scored the equalizer with 16 seconds remaining in the opening period and the goal that gave Brockport the lead two minutes into the next half. She finished with four assists in addition to those two tallies.
The Golden Eagles’ balanced offense controlled possession for most the game’s final 30 minutes, but Cortland made crucial stops on defense. Brockport did not score in the final 15 minutes of play.
Adding to the Red Dragons’ comeback was officiating that appeared to have frustrated several Eagles. Lian said that the team’s reaction to the referees’ calls hurt their chances.
“We played well physically all over the field, but not as well mentally,” Lian said. “We let the officiating get to us.”
The close game was filled with emotion, as every call, every save and every shot was a clear showing of how much this game meant to the players and coaches.
For Brockport, that’s something that didn’t stop at the final whistle, as Lian said she was looking forward to a possible rematch.
“We know we can beat them,” Lian said. “I hope we play them at SUNYACS.”
Brockport still has a long way to go before the postseason, as there are six games left before SUNYACs. The Golden Eagles will play two non-conference games in that stretch, starting with a home game against Elmira Thursday, April 17.
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