CANTON, NY –
Anna McCarthy (Bay Shore) netted three second-half goals for her first collegiate hat trick to guide the nationally 15th-ranked Cortland field hockey team to a 3-0 road win at St. Lawrence in a non-conference contest on Wednesday afternoon. The Red Dragons are now 12-3 on the year, while St. Lawrence finishes the season at 5-10.
McCarthy also registered the first multi-goal performance of her career and now has four goals on the season.
Tori Peterson (Whitney Point),
Sadie Hoffmann (Miller Place), and
Lillian Morse (Burnt Hills/Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake) each provided one assist for the Red Dragons.
Sofia Cannistraci (Guilderland) made seven saves in goal for her eighth shutout of the year.
St. Lawrence's Stella Gizzi made 10 saves in goal to keep the game close, as Cortland held a 13-7 edge in shots on goal in the contest.
Five minutes into the first quarter, the Red Dragons had a 3-on-1 break heading towards the St. Lawrence goal, but couldn't muster a shot on target as Saints defenders sprinted back to stop the promising attack.
Before the midway point of the frame, Cortland had its best chance in front of goal after winning a penalty corner, but
Kaylee Hughen's (Lake Hopatcong, NJ/Boonton) shot slid just wide of the right post. St. Lawrence fired a pair of shots on target in the final two minutes that required strong saves by Cannistraci to keep the game scoreless after one period.
The Saints outshot the Red Dragons by a 5-1 margin in the second quarter, including a 4-1 edge in shots on target. However, Cannistraci came up clutch with four saves in the period, including a pair of tremendous stops with six minutes remaining to keep the game tied through halftime.
The Red Dragons jumped out to a 1-0 lead less than one minute into the third quarter on a penalty corner.
Gabriella Gemelli (Clinton) inserted the ball and the Red Dragons passed around to Hoffmann just inside the circle on the left side. Hoffmann slipped a reverse-stick shot towards goal that took a deflection off Peterson's stick and then was tapped in just in front of goal by McCarthy.
Cortland nearly added a second goal in the final minute of the third quarter, but Gizzi made three consecutive saves on Peterson, Gemelli, and
Adrienne Mayes (Vestal) to keep the Saints within one heading into the final frame.
The Red Dragons made it 2-0 following another penalty corner on McCarthy's second goal five minutes into the fourth. Seconds after inserting the corner, Gemelli received a pass inside the circle at the left side and slid a pass to the middle. A St. Lawrence defender attempted to clear the ball away, but Hoffmann intercepted and scooped a shot that was redirected into the right corner of the goal by McCarthy.
McCarthy's third tally capped the scoring with under two minutes remaining in the game off another penalty corner. The ball was sent to the edge of the circle, where Morse ripped a shot towards goal that was once again tipped into the cage by McCarthy for the 3-0 lead with 1:18 left.
In the final minute, Cannistraci had to sprint out from goal to make a strong kick and clear the ball from danger, preserving the shutout win in Cortland final regular-season road contest.
