A Quick Look
The SUNY Oneonta women's lacrosse team fell to Brockport 16-7 in the SUNYAC Semifinals Thursday afternoon. Oneonta's season comes to end with a record of 5-4.
 
The Inside Story
Oneonta opened the game with two quick shots on net in the first 46 seconds, but Brockport goalie Morgan Elmer made the stops. Brockport jumped on the board with their first possession on a free position goal. After the Golden Eagles made it 2-0 on a Logan Hibbard goal, Oneonta's Deirdre Buckley (Merrick/Kellenberg Memorial) ripped a shot into the top of the Brockport net to cut the deficit in half. Brockport responded with a pair of goals in 57 seconds to go in front 4-1.
 
Lily Avazis (Port Washington/Schreiber) appeared to score Oneonta's second goal of the game, but the officials called a dangerous propelling penalty, and the point was taken off the board. Brockport went on to score three consecutive free position goals to take a 7-1 lead. After Brockport extended their lead to 8-1 on a man-up goal, Deirdre Buckley (Merrick/Kellenberg Memorial) tallied her second of the game for Oneonta on a pass from Lily Avazis (Port Washington/Schreiber). Sophia Calabrese (Bethlehem/Bethlehem Central) kept the Oneonta momentum going with back-to-back free position goals, cutting the Red Dragons deficit to 8-4. After Brockport netted another man-up goal, Sophia Calabrese (Bethlehem/Bethlehem Central) got the point right back as she took the ensuing draw control down the field to complete the hat-trick.
 
Brockport increased their lead to 10-5 when they opened the second half with a man-up goal just 53 seconds into the stanza. The Golden Eagles added to the lead with 20:47 remaining in regulation on a free position goal. Oneonta's combo of Lily Avazis (Port Washington/Schreiber) to Deirdre Buckley (Merrick/Kellenberg Memorial) struck again at the 17:55 mark, cutting the Brockport lead to 11-6. Unfortunately, the hosts responded with a 3-0 run to go in front 14-6. Oneonta's last goal of the season came on a free position shot from Megan Foiles (Pearl River/Pearl River) with 4:53 left on the clock.
 
"I'm proud of this team and what they accomplished in only playing 45 days of lacrosse", said head coach Brandi Lusk. "Each senior played hard and left it all on the field and it was amazing to see our toughness between the lines and on the sideline. Our returning players are already talking on the bus about next season and what we can do to be a top four team in the conference again."
 
Just the Stats
The two teams combined to score six man-up goals in the game, with Brockport registering four of them. The Golden Eagles outshot Oneonta by a 37-27 margin with Oneonta goalie Jennifer Tumino (Carle Place/Carle Place) making nine saves. Brockport took ten more free position shots than Oneonta as the Golden Eagles scored 11 times on their opportunities. Haley Vermette (Brewster/North Salem) and Maggee Sheridan (Warwick/Warwick Valley) each finished with three caused turnovers while Vermette also gathered a team-best five ground balls.