CORTLAND, N.Y. - The nationally 17th-ranked Cortland women's lacrosse team closed the first half with seven consecutive goals and went on to hand 16th-ranked William Smith its first loss of the season, 12-9, Wednesday afternoon in non-conference action. The Red Dragons improved to 4-4 overall, while the Herons fell to 5-1.

Freshman Lindsay Abbott (South Onondaga/Onondaga Central) led the Red Dragons with four goals and an assist. Senior Danielle Torre (Massapequa) tallied three goals, freshman Jordan Miller (Liverpool) scored twice and sophomore Megan Clare (Shirley/William Floyd) added a goal and an assist. Sophomore Mallory Palmieri (Bellmore/John F. Kennedy) scored what proved to be the winning goal, sophomore Brianna Shost (Mahopac) colelcted a goal and senior Meghan Gallagher (Long Beach) chipped in with three assists, all in the opening half. Freshman goalie Amanda Caloia (Baldwinsville/C.W. Baker) made eight saves.

Junior Sarah Goodkind (Greenwich, CT/Millbrook School) paced the William Smith offiense with four goals. Senior Michaela Parnell (Guilford, CT) scored a pair of goals and juniors Brittany Callaghan (Armonk/St. Luke's School) and Molly Fitzgerald (Sudbury, MA/Gould Academy) and sophomore Cassie Findlay (Riverside, CT/Episcopal) each scored a goal. Freshman Lucy Johnson (Short Hills, NJ/Millburn) contributed two assists. Senior goalie Rebecca Josefiak (West Seneca/West Seneca East) registered seven saves.

The Herons struck quickly for a 2-0 lead on scores from Goodkind at 29 minutes, one second and Findlay at 28:37. Abbott put Cortland on the scoreboard at 19:29, and the Red Dragons followed with six more goals, including two each from Abbott and Miller, for a 7-2 lead at the intermission.

William Smith opened the second half with two of the first three goals to pull to within 8-4 with 23:48 remaining. After Torre made it a 9-4 game with her second of the contest at 19:24, Parnell and Goodkind scored free-position goals less than two minutes apart to make the score 9-6.

Cortland responded with three of the next four goals, one each from Palmieri, Torre and Shost, to up its lead to 12-7 with 9:25 on the clock. The Red Dragons then controlled the ball to eat up clock before the Herons netted two late scores, at 1:51 and 1:38, for the final of 12-9.

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CORTLAND, N.Y.-The 16th-ranked William Smith College lacrosse team fell to 17th-ranked Cortland 12-9 this afternoon at Stadium Red. The Herons slip to 5-1 on the season, while the Red Dragons improve to 4-4 overall.

Junior Sarah Goodkind (Millbrook School/Greenwich, Conn.) netted four goals to lead William Smith, while senior Michaela Parnell (Guilford/Guilford, Conn.) scored twice.

Lindsay Abbott led the Red Dragons, totaling four goals and an assist, while Danielle Torre added three goals.

The Herons owned a 2-0 lead before two minutes had expired on the clock, thanks to tallies from Goodkind and sophomore Cassie Findlay (Episcopal/Riverside, Conn.). That would be the only scoring for William Smith in the first half. Cortland went on to net seven unanswered goals, seizing a 7-2 advantage at halftime. Abbott was responsible for three of the Red Dragons' goals during the run.

William Smith came out firing in the second stanza, as junior Brittany Callaghan (St. Luke's School/Armonk, N.Y.) broke through just 1 minute, 12 seconds into the half, off an assist from first-year Lucy Johnson (Millburn/Short Hills, N.J.). Johnson finished with two helpers.

The teams traded goals over the next several minutes. The Herons cut their deficit to three, 9-6, after back-to-back free position goals from Parnell and Goodkind, but would not get closer.

William Smith senior goalkeeper Becky Josefiak (West Seneca East/West Seneca, N.Y.) collected seven saves, while Cortland goalie Amanda Caloia stopped eight shots. The Red Dragons out shot the Herons 27-21.

William Smith will be back in action on April 3, when the Herons travel to St. Lawrence for a Liberty League contest at 4:00 p.m.

2009-04-01