SUNYAC WOMEN'S SOCCER TOURNAMENT
SEMIFINALS: #5 OSWEGO LAKERS AT #1 CORTLAND RED DRAGONS
Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2026 – 6:00 p.m.
Holloway Field – Cortland, NY

FOLLOW ALONG…

LIVE STATS
VIDEO 
PROGRAM (Combined Men's/Women's Semifinals Program)

TICKET INFORMATION (LINK TO PURCHASE TICKETS)
-Online Ticketing Only  
-Adult tickets - $6
-Youth (ages 5-17) tickets - $4
-SUNYAC students with ID are free SUNYAC students with ID are free

SEMIFINAL MATCHUP… Top-seeded Cortland begins its conference title defense, hosting fifth-seeded Oswego in the semifinals of the 2026 SUNYAC Women's Soccer Tournament on Wednesday evening on Holloway Field. 
 
Cortland clinched the SUNYAC West division title with a 5-0 win at Morrisville on Wednesday, Oct. 21, with five different players scoring in the win. Three days later, the Red Dragons secured the top overall seed in the conference with a 5-0 victory over Plattsburgh, behind Gianna Cirilla's (Pattersonville/Schalmont) first collegiate hat trick. As the division winner and top seed, Cortland earned byes in the first and second rounds, and the right to home-field advantage throughout the conference tournament.
 
In the new conference playoff format that affords eight playoff berths, Oswego has played twice thus far in the tournament. The Lakers claimed a 5-1 home victory over eighth-seeded Potsdam in the first round last Wednesday, before earning a 3-2 upset win at fourth-seeded Oneonta on Saturday behind Luna Catano-Matip's 80th-minute winner.  
 
Cortland holds a commanding 32-6 record against Oswego in 38 prior meetings of the sides all-time. Cortland is also riding a nine-match winning streak against the Lakers that dates back to 2019, which includes a 23-3 edge in scoring with six shutouts for Cortland during the run.  
 
The sides are facing off in the conference tournament for the third time in the last five seasons, and Cortland has won the previous two meetings in the conference tournament. The Red Dragons claimed a 2-1 home win in the semifinals in 2023, as well as a 2-0 home victory in double overtime in the semifinals in 2022
 
Since 1983, Cortland has won 11 conference titles. Seven of those titles came under Chris Malone from 1984-91, and the other four have come under current head coach Heidi Axtell, in 2012, 2019, 2023, and 2025. In 22 seasons with Axtell at the helm, Cortland has qualified for 20 conference tournaments. The Red Dragons have also reached the championship game in each of the last seven tournaments from 2018-25.

Oswego has qualified for the SUNYAC tournament in five consecutive seasons under head coach Brian McGrane, but have not advanced past the conference semifinals in any of those seasons. The Lakers are also in search of a first conference title.
 
THE PATH FORWARD… The winner of Wednesday's semifinal between Oswego and Cortland will advance to face the winner of the other semifinal that features third-seeded Fredonia traveling to second-seeded Plattsburgh for a 1 p.m. kickoff. The conference championship game is scheduled for Saturday, November 7, although a game time has yet to be determined. If Cortland advances to the finals, the championship game would be hosted by Cortland. If Oswego were to advance, the advancing team from the Plattsburgh-Fredonia clash would host the SUNYAC Finals on Saturday.
 
Plattsburgh also earned byes in the first and second rounds as the SUNYAC East division winner, and enters the week with a 9-3-4 overall record (6-1-1 SUNYAC). The Cardinals are looking for a second SUNYAC title all-time, with their only previous conference championship coming in the 1998 season. Fredonia will be looking for a first-ever conference title. The Blue Devils advanced to the semifinals after earning a 3-1 home victory over Buffalo State in the second round on Saturday.  
 
As is the case in all SUNYAC-sponsored sports, the winner of the conference tournament will receive an automatic qualifying berth into the NCAA Division III tournament, which begins with first-round matchups on Saturday, November 14.
 
SUNYAC WOMEN'S SOCCER TOURNAMENT BRACKET
 
LAST TIME WE MET… Cortland fell behind early, but immediately responded with three goals in a span of under six minutes to earn a 3-1 road win at Oswego on Saturday, October 3, 2025 in the most recent meeting of the sides.
 
Tyla Vuotto (Lynbrook), Piper Klammer (Mahopac), and Cassia Schuyler (Cincinnatus) each tallied a goal for the Red Dragons, with Klammer and Jillian Nicolosi (Farmingdale/St. Anthony's) providing an assist apiece. Olivia Rouse (Springfield, VA/West Springfield) made four saves in goal for Cortland.
 
Kaylee Elliott scored the lone goal for the Lakers, assisted by Julia Carter. Lucy Starzyk stopped five shots in goal for Oswego.
 
The Lakers opened the scoring only 3:23 into the first half to take a 1-0 lead. Carter sent a low pass from the midfield to Elliott behind the Cortland defense, who slotted a shot past an onrushing Rouse for the opener.
 
Cortland equalized exactly three minutes of game action later, as Klammer sent a long throw-in from the right sideline to the middle of the 18-yard area, where Vuotto headed a shot into the bottom right corner of the goal for her team-leading sixth goal of the year, and fourth straight game with a goal.
 
Just over four minutes after the Red Dragons had tied the game, Klammer netted the go-ahead goal, dribbling through the Oswego defense down the left side, and firing a shot into the corner of the net for her first goal of the season.
 
Schuyler extended Cortland's lead less than a minute later following a corner kick. The Lakers dealt with the initial cross off the corner, but Nicolosi was able to toe a pass out to Schuyler at the right side, who hit a strong strike into the back of the goal.
 
Each team had multiple chances to add to the scoring over the remainder of the half, but Rouse turned aside a pair of shots from the Lakers and Starzyk made three saves, including two in the final minute before halftime, to stymie Cortland.
 
The second half featured two shots on goal for each side that were all saved by the goalies. Leah Rehm (East Syracuse/East Syracuse-Minoa) had a shot stopped in the 49th minute and Klammer was denied by Starzyk in the 76th minute. One of Oswego's shots came in the 64th minute and another in the 83rd minute, both of which were saved by Rouse.
 
Cortland finished the game with a 13-8 advantage in shot attempts, including an 8-5 edge in shots on target. The teams each had five corner kicks during the game.
  
THE CORTLAND CAPSULE… Cortland enters the week at 11-3-3 after a 7-0-1 record during the SUNYAC regular season.
 
The Red Dragons opened the season with five consecutive home contests to begin the year, going 3-2 in those games with a signature victory over #23 Penn State Harrisburg.
 
Cortland then went 5-0-1 in its next six games, including posting four conference victories while outscoring SUNYAC foes by a 19-2 margin in that run.
 
After suffering a defeat at #12 Williams and its only blemish in conference play with a tie against Fredonia, Cortland rattled off three straight wins to clinch the division title and the top overall seed, including a 5-0 drubbing of SUNYAC East division winner Plattsburgh in the conference finale.
 
Cortland closed the regular season with a 1-1 tie against Nazareth in non-conference action.
 
Leading Cortland in scoring is sophomore Gianna Cirilla, who has 15 goals and four assists for 34 points. Senior Tyla Vuotto has 10 goals and seven assists for 27 points, and both Cirilla and Vuotto have four game-winning goals.
 
Sophomore Leah Rehm and senior Piper Klammer (Mahopac) each have 14 points, with Rehm contributing two goals and 10 assists and Klammer adding three goals and eight assists.  
 
Cortland's defense has allowed 1.24 goals per game, and goalkeeper Olivia Rouse has started all 17 games with a 1.31 goals-against average and a .687 save percentage. The Red Dragons have been even better in conference play, allowing just six goals in eight SUNYAC contests for a 0.75 goals against average with five shutouts.   
 
FINDING THE NET… Gianna Cirilla finished the regular season leading the conference and ranked 15th in the country with 15 goals. She scored at least one goal in nine games, and had 10 goals in eight SUNYAC contests, including a goal in each of the final five league games. Cortland's record in games that Cirilla scored in is 8-0-1.
 
CORNERING THE OPPONENT… As a team, Cortland has earned 126 corner kicks in 17 games. The Red Dragons' average of 7.41 corners per game is best in the SUNYAC and 15th in the nation.
 
CONFERENCE CRUSHER… Tyla Vuotto finished conference play with 19 points on seven goals and five assists. Vuotto had at least one point in all eight conference games, and scored a goal in 7-of-8 league games.  
 
HELPER, HELPER, HELPER… When Leah Rehm provided three assists in Cortland's 5-0 victory over Plattsburgh, it was the first time in over two years that a Red Dragon recorded three assists in a game. The last time prior to Rehm was when Katie Cosenza had three assists in a win over Oswego in 2024.
 
DON'T WANNA COME HERE… Since the start of the 2023 season, Cortland has gone 18-0-4 in 22 home games against conference opponents, both in the regular season and in the conference tournament. The Red Dragons are also outscoring league foes by a 71-11 margin in those 22 games.  
 
SUNYAC WEEKLY WINNERS… Cortland has claimed SUNYAC weekly awards four times this season. Gianna Cirilla was selected as the SUNYAC Offensive Athlete of the Week on three occasions, and Jillian Nicolosi earned the conference's Defensive Athlete of the Week honor once.
 
A LOOK AT THE LAKERS… Oswego enters Wednesday with a 7-7-3 overall record, and placed fifth during the conference regular season with a 3-2-3 league mark. The Lakers are riding a three-match winning streak and are unbeaten in their last six games.  
 
Oswego has scored 35 goals in 17 games for an average of 2.06 goals per game. The Lakers have scored two or more goals in eight games on the year, and have a 7-0-1 record in those eight contests.
 
Offensively, 13 different players have scored a goal for Oswego, with nine of those players scoring multiple times. Kyla Sustad and Sabrina Schmitt are tied for the team lead with six goals apiece, while Sustad and Solange Catano-Matip have 16 points apiece. Catano-Matip's eight assists are the most on the team, and her 0.53 assists per game are third in the conference.
 
Oswego has the two most dependable shooters in the conference in terms of shot accuracy. Julia Carter leads the SUNYAC with a .686 shot accuracy, while Sustad is right behind at .645.
 
The Lakers' defense allows 1.82 goals per game, which is sixth out of 12 teams in the conference. The Lakers are 1-5-1 on the year when allowing two goals or more, but did win their most recent game against Oneonta by a 3-2 scoreline. Additionally, Oswego has fared better in 10 games against conference opponents, including the two conference tournament games, where the Lakers are sporting a 1.30 goals-against average.
 
Goalkeeper Lucy Starzyk has played in 13 games, and has registered a 5-5-3 overall record, a .718 save percentage, and a 1.65 goals-against average.

SCHEDULES/RESULTS (click team to access online schedules)…

CORTLAND RED DRAGONS: 11-3-3 (7-0-1 SUNYAC) 
 
OSWEGO LAKERS: 7-7-3 (3-2-3 SUNYAC)