MARCY, N.Y. – The SUNY Polytechnic Women's Lacrosse Team (9-6, 6-3 NEAC) won a program-best 9th game of the season on Tuesday, defeating the similarly-named Wildcats of Cazenovia by a score of 14 to 4, the first playoff victory in the SUNY Poly program's four-year history.
The Wildcats dominated the game from start to finish. Sophomore Krysta Beha (Marcy, N.Y. / Whitesboro) had a tremendous game for the home team, out-scoring the opponent all by herself with 5 goals on the day. Beha also dominated the draw for the Wildcats, giving SUNY Poly possession after possession, especially in the first half.
Having lost to Cazenovia in almost identical games during the first round of the last two NEAC playoffs, SUNY Poly came out on Tuesday afternoon a team possessed. The Wildcats scored twice in the first 2 minutes and 33 seconds of the game, forcing a Cazenovia timeout. The first goal was netted by rookie Mariana Ames, with Beha following it up just minutes later. Both scores came on similar plays, with the shooters driving across the front of the cage starting from the left side. Beha's goal banked in off the left post, forcing the visitor timeout.
SUNY Poly would run its advantage to 6-2. Cazenovia showed some life, taking advantage of a man-up opportunity and intercepting a clear attempt which resulted in a point-blank goal for Abby Webster, narrowing the deficit to 3 goals.
Not willing to give the visiting team hope, the Wildcats instead found some of their own, as rookie defender Hope Cerasuolo made a tremendous individual play to stretch the lead back to four. The shifty defender drove to her right, then pivoted and spun back to her left, switching hands with the stick before driving right down the middle and finishing in traffic. Cerasuolo had an outstanding game for the Wildcats, finishing with team-highs of 4 caused-turnovers and 8 groundballs.
In all, seven different SUNY Poly players scored in the game. Ames had 3 goals and an assist, while Corrina Marconi contributed 2 goals and 2 caused-turnovers, and SUNY Poly leading-scorer Meghan Serota led the team with 2 assists while finding the net once.
In between the pipes for SUNY Poly was Cassidy Thompson, who had a stellar game with 10 saves. Thompson even made a number of stops on free position shots for the visitors.
Said Wildcat coach Erin Schurr, in her second season with the team, "I'm so proud of the girls for their hard work to get us to this point. It's exciting to watch such a young team come together to accomplish our first trip to the conference tournament; we're looking forward to continuing our strong play into the weekend."
The Wildcats now advance to the NEAC semifinals this weekend, to be held at tournament-host Keuka College. The Wolfpack defeated the Wildcats earlier in the year in a close game, 13-11. They will take on the top-seeded Wolfpack on Saturday at 11:30 am.