CAZENOVIA, N.Y. – The SUNYIT Women's Lacrosse Team fell to the Wildcats of Cazenovia on Tuesday in the teams' 1st Round NEAC Tournament matchup. SUNYIT played Cazenovia to a tight 13-12 loss just 11 days ago, but this time around the Wildcats were no match for the home team, falling 16-8.
It was a tale of two halves as Cazenovia held just a 4-2 lead at the conclusion of the first 30 minutes of play. Nicole DiPiazza (Colonie, N.Y. / Colonie) and Tierney McGlynn (Watervliet, N.Y. / Watervliet) accounted for both of SUNYIT's goal in the first period, McGlynn's an unassisted strike while DiPiazza netted a free position opportunity.
Things started to unravel in the second half. Kim Vrigian, who scored 2 goals in the first half, netted two of Cazenovi's first three goals to start the second period, and went on to score a whopping 6 in the second half alone, leading all scorers with 8 goals on the game. The home team went on a 7-2 run to begin the final thirty minutes of play, effectively putting the game out of reach for the visiting Wildcats en route to the 16-8 victory.
DiPiazza and Jenna Lashua (Heuvelton, N.Y. / Heuvelton) tied for the team-lead in goals with 2 each, while the defender McGlynn added team-highs of 8 groundballs and 3 caused turnovers to her one first half score.
The Wildcats finish the season at 6-7 overall, good for the best winning percentage in the young program's 3-year history, and equaled last year's NEAC record by finishing 5-4.