CORTLAND, N.Y. – Sophomore Jessie Fritz (Baldwinsville/C.W. Baker) and junior Danielle Torre (Massapequa) each scored a career-high five goals as the nationally 15th-ranked Cortland women's lacrosse team rallied for a 12-11 overtime triumph over Ithaca in windy and snowy conditions Thursday afternoon. The Red Dragons improved to 3-2 with the win, while the Bombers fell to 1-2.

Junior Meghan Gallagher (Long Beach) added a goal and two assists, senior Beth Elmer (Syracuse/West Genesee) tallied a goal and senior Rachel Cornwell (Fairport) collected an assist for Cortland.

Sophomore goalie Deanne Abell (Fulton/G. Ray Bodley) made a career- best 17 saves.

Nine different players scored goals for the Bombers, led by senior Kim Medla (Brewster) and freshman Catherine Hurley (Honeoye Falls/ Honeoye Falls-Lima) who each found the back of the net twice. Junior Becky Bedard (East Longmeadow, MA) recorded a goal and two assists, and sophomores Kassie Garfield (Cuttyhunk Island, MA/The Wheeler

School) and Kylie McClure (Columbus, OH/Upper Arlington) had a goal and an assist apiece. Senior goalie Emily Brooks (Setauket/Ward

Melville) stopped 13 shots.

The teams were tied 2-2 with 11 minutes, 40 seconds left in the first half after Torre scored twice in a 43-second span for Cortland to erase a 2-0 deficit. Ithaca responded with the next five goals and led 7-2 until Fritz scored her first of the game four seconds before halftime to make it a 7-3 game.

The Red Dragons opened the second half with four straight goals to even the score at 7-7 with 16:05 remaining in regulation. The teams then battled back-and-forth the rest of the way. Ithaca regained the lead, 9-7, with goals Bedard and Medla, but Torre scored two and Fritz added her third of the game to give Cortland a 10-9 lead with 8:33 on the clock.

Garfield tied the game with 2:26 remaining, and Medla gave the Bombers an 11-10 lead off a feed from McClure with 39 seconds to go.

Junior Lindsay Bakker (Sloatsburg/Suffern) won the ensuing draw control for the Red Dragons and Cortland worked the ball to Torre who was fouled while going to the net and received a free-position attempt. Her shot, however sailed high and wide. Cortland retained possession and Fritz dodged on the left side of the cage and tied the game with just 11 ticks on the clock to send the game to the mandatory two three-minute overtime sessions. Fritz gave Cortland a

12-11 lead with her fifth goal of the game 1:10 into the first overtime stanza and Abell made a key save on a free-position attempt by Medla in the second session to preserve the lead and the win.

2008-03-20