ONEONTA, N.Y. - After securing the fourth seed in the SUNYAC Tournament, the Oneonta women's lacrosse team will host sixth-seeded Buffalo State on Sat. Apr. 26 at 1 p.m. on Red Dragon Field. The Red Dragons have reached the SUNYAC Tournament for the 11th straight season.
SUNYAC Ticketing Prices are as follows (cash only):
- Adults: $5
- Children (5-12): $3
- Children 4 years old and younger: FREE
- SUNYAC Students with School I.D. Present at Ticketing Table: FREE
Oneonta enters playoffs at 7-9 overall, with a 6-3 mark in the SUNYAC. Buffalo State finished the regular season at 11-6 and 5-4 in the conference.
Senior Cassidy Moore (Hampton Bays, NY/Hampton Bays) paces the Red Dragons' offense with 78 points on 50 goals and 28 assists. She ranked third in the SUNYAC with 106 draw controls and caused 11 turnovers with 26 ground balls. Senior Elizabeth Doherty (Miller Place, NY/Miller Place) added 56 points with 38 goals and 18 assists, while senior Ellie Downey (West Babylon, NY/West Babylon) had 37 goals, 17 assists, 12 caused turnovers, and 26 ground balls. Junior Lindsey Townes (Yorktown Heights, NY/Yorktown) ranked second on the team with 46 goals and led the team with 14 caused turnovers.
Defensively, senior Mason Benvenuto (Lynbrook, NY/Lynbrook) led Oneonta with 33 ground balls and caused 12 turnovers. Junior McKenzie Busch (Babylon, NY/Babylon Jr./Sr.) grabbed 14 ground balls and caused nine turnovers.
Sophomore Margot Haring (Doylestown, PA/Central Bucks) and senior Julia Hawkins (East Greenbush, NY/Columbia) split time in goal for the Red Dragons. Haring made nine starts with 79 saves and a .391 save percentage. Hawkins started seven games with 58 saves on a .372 save percentage.
The Oneonta offense ranks fourth in the SUNAYC with 220 total goals (13.75 goals per game).
The Bengals feature the conference's top offense with 255 goals this season. Vanessa Willick tops the team and SUNYAC with 88 points on 69 goals and 19 assists. She also won 135 draw controls with 58 groundballs and 20 caused turnovers. Sage Running Rabbit added 83 points with 32 goals and a conference-best 51 assists. Lauren Rinow finished with 58 points (44 goals, 14 assists), and Emilee Josker had 51 points (45 goals, six assists).
Defensively, Anastacia Wells caused 35 turnovers with 44 ground balls.
Brielle Lum started 15 games in goal with 91 saves on a .412 save percentage.
Oneonta defeated Buffalo State 16-15 in overtime earlier this season but is coming off a 19-8 loss to New Paltz to close the regular season. The Bengals finished the regular season on a four-game losing streak, with a 17-8 loss to Oswego in the season finale.
Following the first-round game, the winner plays at top-seeded Oswego on Wed. Apr. 30.
