SUNYAC WOMEN'S LACROSSE TOURNAMENT PREVIEW
SEMIFINALS: #3 NEW PALTZ HAWKS AT #2 CORTLAND RED DRAGONS
Wednesday, Apr. 29, 2026 – 5:00 p.m.
Grady Field – Cortland, NY

FOLLOW ALONG…

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

SEMIFINAL TICKET INFORMATION (LINK TO PURCHASE TICKETS)
-Online Ticketing Only  
-Adults (18+) - $6 ($5 + $1 service fee)
-Youth (Ages 5-17) - $4 ($3 + $1 service fee)
-SUNYAC students with ID are free

SEMIFINAL MATCHUP… Second-seeded Cortland hosts third-seeded New Paltz in the semifinals of the SUNYAC tournament for the second straight year, with Cortland looking to begin its climb for a conference title after being knocked off by Oswego in last year's title game.  
 
The Red Dragons clinched a bye into the conference semifinals and the right to host a semifinal contest after a 20-5 home victory over Buffalo State on Saturday, Apr. 18. Cortland dropped a winner-take-all game for the top seed and the conference regular-season title by a 12-11 score to Oswego last Wednesday to finish second in the regular season.
 
New Paltz was third in the conference during the regular season, and earned a tight 9-8 victory over sixth-seeded Buffalo State in the first round of the conference tournament on Saturday behind a three-goal performance from Allison Beattie.
 
Cortland is 19-0 against New Paltz since 2009, with 15 of the 19 victories, and both of the last two wins for the Red Dragons over the Hawks, coming by 10 goals or more.  
 
Last season was the first time that the two teams squared off in the conference tournament, with Cortland taking a commanding 17-3 victory in Cortland.

Cortland is looking for its 25th conference title all-time, as the Red Dragons have also claimed SUNYAC titles in 2022 and 2024 under head coach Kelsey Van Alstyne. Cortland has won 24 of the previous 28 conference tournaments, and has never failed to win the SUNYAC tournament in two consecutive seasons.
 
New Paltz is in search of its first-ever SUNYAC title in its final season as a member of the conference before leaving to join the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) for the 2026-27 year and beyond. The Hawks have now reached the conference tournament in each of the last five seasons, and have reached the conference semifinals in each of the last three years.
 
THE PATH FORWARD… The winner of Wednesday's semifinal between New Paltz and Cortland will advance to face the winner of the other semifinal that features fourth-seeded Oneonta traveling to top-seeded Oswego for a 4 p.m. start time. If Oswego wins its semifinal contest, the winner of the Cortland-New Paltz semifinal would travel to Oswego for the championship game on Saturday, May 2. However, if Oneonta were to pull off the upset over Oswego, the Cortland-New Paltz winner would host the SUNYAC finals as the highest remaining seed.
 
Oswego clinched the SUNYAC regular-season title and the top seed in the conference tournament after a 12-11 victory over Cortland last Wednesday, going 9-0 in league play for the second straight season. The Lakers are looking to successfully defend last year's crown for their second conference title all-time.
 
Oneonta posted a 6-3 league record to finish as the fourth seed after the regular season. Oneonta advanced to the semifinals after a 16-10 home victory over fifth-seeded Fredonia on Saturday, and is in search of its second-ever SUNYAC title, and first title since 1998.
 
The winner of the conference tournament will receive the SUNYAC's automatic qualifier into the NCAA Div. III playoffs.
 
SUNYAC WOMEN'S LACROSSE TOURNAMENT BRACKET
 
LAST TIME WE MET… After falling behind by two goals early in the first quarter, Cortland women's closed the game on a 15-3 run for a commanding 15-5 road victory over New Paltz in SUNYAC play on Friday, Apr. 3 in the previous meeting of the sides. Cortland remained unbeaten in league play with a 4-0 mark, and moved to 8-3 overall. New Paltz suffered its first conference defeat to fall to 3-1 in the league and 7-4 overall.
 
Kristen Javenes (North Rockland) had a career-high five goals to lead Cortland offensively, while Brooke Elizalde (Ronkonkoma/Connetquot) contributed a goal and four assists and Sydney Elizalde (Ronkonkoma/Connetquot) added four goals.
 
Emma Dempsey (Brewerton/Paul V. Moore), Ashley Melillo (Massapequa), and Bella Dembinski (Holbrook/Sachem East) each recorded three points, with Dempsey providing two goals and an assist and Melillo and Dembinski having a goal and two assists apiece.
 
Chelsey Weber (Holtsville/Sachem East) had three caused turnovers and scooped up four ground balls for the Cortland defense, and Bridie McGuire (Manorville/Eastport-South Manor) had two caused turnovers, six ground balls, and one draw control. Taylor Mullins (Penn Yan/Penn Yan Academy) finished with a career-high 10 draw controls, shattering her previous career high of five from earlier this season.
 
Lexi Atwater and Mia Baldinger each scored two goals for the Hawks, while Ava Padilla registered two assists. Amy Whitman had five caused turnovers and scooped up three ground balls, while Maddy Luongo and Helena Willis each had three caused turnovers.
 
Baldinger gave New Paltz a 1-0 lead under three minutes into the first quarter with a player-up goal following a green card on the Red Dragons. The Hawks doubled their lead only 23 seconds later to take a 2-0 advantage with 11:46 left in the period.
 
The teams struggled to get going offensively over the next seven minutes, with no goals and a combined 11 turnovers in that stretch.
 
Cortland got on the board with under four minutes remaining, with Dembinski sending a pass from the right side to the middle to Sierra Natoli (Baldwinsville/C.W. Baker) for Natoli's third goal of the season. The Elizalde sisters combined for a goal with 1:50 remaining to tie the score at 2-2 at the end of the opening frame, with Brooke Elizalde providing the assist on Sydney Elizalde's 22nd goal of the year.
 
Atwater opened up the second quarter with a goal only 1:29 into the period to re-establish a lead for New Paltz, but the Red Dragons scored the final four goals of the half to take the lead for good and held a 6-3 edge into halftime. Among the four Cortland goals in the second quarter, Dempsey, Melillo, and Javenes each scored a free-position goal, and Brooke Elizalde set up Dembinski's 20th goal of the season with 6:03 left in the half.
 
The Red Dragons outscored the Hawks 4-2 in the third quarter to extend the lead to 10-5 at the end of three periods, with Sydney Elizalde scoring twice in the period and Dempsey and Javenes both scoring a goal.
 
In the fourth quarter, Cortland scored five times and did not allow a goal, extending its lead to the final margin of 10. Javenes netted three of the Red Dragons' goals in the quarter, Brooke Elizalde scored once off an assist from Melillo, and Sydney Elizalde used the final action of the contest to tally her fourth goal of the game with 39 seconds remaining.
 
New Paltz's final goal of the contest came with 6:26 remaining in the third quarter, and the Red Dragon defense was excellent over the final 21-plus minutes of the game, allowing just one shot on target that was saved by Trinity Parks (Port Crane/Chenango Forks) to prevent a comeback.
 
THE CORTLAND CAPSULE… Cortland enters the conference tournament with a 12-4 overall record for the season after an 8-1 record in league play during the regular season for the second straight year.

Cortland opened the season with a commanding 15-3 victory over Western Connecticut State in which the Red Dragon defense held its opponent scoreless over the final 41 minutes of the contest.
 
The Red Dragons then suffered a pair of one-goal loses to nationally-ranked opponents at home, a 16-15 loss in overtime to #23 Ithaca and a 10-9 defeat to #10 William Smith. Cortland rebounded with a 16-11 home victory over Mount Union, and a pair of decisive victories over Wellesley and Hartwick in neutral-site contests in Panama City Beach, Florida to move to 4-2.
 
Cortland suffered another loss to a nationally-ranked opponent in #23 St. John Fisher, before winning eight straight games to begin SUNYAC play, with victories by at least nine goals in each of those contests to set up the showdown against Oswego on the final day of the regular season. Against the Lakers, Cortland saw its late rally fall just short at the end, despite scoring two goals in the final minute of play.

Cortland averages 15.69 goals per game to lead the SUNYAC and rank 22nd in the nation. The Red Dragons have registered at least 15 goals in a game during 11 games this season, including in 6-of-9 league games.
 
Sydney Elizalde is the top point scorer for Cortland on the year, with 44 goals and 17 assists for 61 points. Ashley Melillo is right behind with 59 points on 35 goals and 24 assists. Brooke Elizalde is the top assister on the year, with 35 assists to go with 21 goals for 56 points, and Emma Dempsey has added 43 goals and 12 assists for 55 points.  
 
The Red Dragons also have the 11th-best scoring defense in the country, allowing only 5.75 goals per game. Cortland allowed five goals or fewer in 11 games during the regular season, and goalkeeper Trinity Parks is 11th in the nation with a 6.21 goals-against average while starting all 16 games.   
 
Cortland's defense leads the conference and is 36th in the nation with 13.06 caused turnovers per game. Melillo leads the team with 36 caused turnovers, while Bridie McGuire (Manorville/Eastport-South Manor) has 21 caused turnovers, Sydney Elizalde has 19 caused turnovers, and Lexi Caron (Manlius/Fayetteville-Manlius) has 18 caused turnovers.
 
OFF AND RUNNING… Sydney Elizalde's 61 points thus far in her rookie season are the most from a Red Dragon freshman in over 10 years, when Kristen Ohberg posted 84 points in 23 games during the 2014 season.   
 
ON THE MARK… Cortland leads the conference with a shooting percentage of .502 as a team, a mark that is also 16th in the country. The Red Dragons also have the top two individuals in shooting percentage in the conference in Sydney Elizalde and Kristen Javenes. Elizalde leads the conference and is 14th in the nation with a .620 shooting percentage, and Javenes is second in the conference and 46th in the nation with a .578 shooting percentage.
 
SPREADING IT OUT… Brooke Elizalde leads the SUNYAC with 35 assists this season, and her 2.33 assists per game are 44th in the country. Elizalde has provided at least one assist to eight different teammates this season, Dembinski, Sydney Elizalde, Kaitlyn Tietjen (Delmar/Bethlehem Central), Alyssa Leotta (Dix Hills/Half Hollow Hills West), Javenes, Melillo, Dempsey, and Campbell Hewlett (Churchville/Churchville Chili).  
 
STARTS WITH THE DRAW… The Red Dragons are averaging 14.38 draw controls per game for the year to lead the SUNYAC and rank 34th in the nation. Cortland also has a draw control percentage of .625, which is second in the conference and 16th in the country.
 
SUNYAC WEEKLY WINNERS… Two different players have earned a SUNYAC weekly award this season for Cortland. Emma Dempsey was once honored as the SUNYAC Offensive Athlete of the Week, while Bridie McGuire was selected as the SUNYAC Defensive Athlete of the Week one time as well.   
 
THE NEW PALTZ NEWS… New Paltz heads into the conference semifinals with a 12-5 overall record following the victory over Buffalo State. The Hawks had a 7-2 record in conference play, with their two losses coming to the top two seeds in the conference tournament, 8-7 to Oswego and 15-5 to Cortland.  
 
The New Paltz offense averages 13.47 goals per game, with the majority of the scoring being provided by Lexi Atwater. Atwater has 72 goals and 13 assists for 85 points, and her 72 goals are first in the conference and fifth in the country. The New Paltz offense goes as Atwater goes, as evidenced by the Hawks' 11-1 record in games that Atwater scores three times or more. Conversely, New Paltz is just 1-4 if the opponent holds Atwater to two goals or fewer.  
 
Secondary scoring has come from Allison Beattie with 65 points on 31 goals and a team-best 34 assists. Ava Padilla also has 34 assists to go along with 22 goals, while Mia Baldinger has contributed 49 points on 34 goals and 15 assists.  
 
New Paltz's defense is led by Sam Wohlmut and Amy Whitman, who are the both ranked in the top seven in the SUNYAC in caused turnovers per game. Whitman is second in the conference with 2.82 caused turnovers per game, while Wohlmut is seventh with 2.12 caused turnovers per game. The Hawks' defense is third in the conference and 24th in the nation in scoring defense, allowing only 7.12 goals per game.  
 
The goalkeeping minutes for New Paltz have been split evenly between Piper Mascaros and Gabriella Tommaso. Mascaros has a 44.2% save percentage and a 7.73 goals-against average over 450:00 in goal, and Tommaso has a 47.0% save percentage and an 8.14 goals-against average in 449:51 in goal.

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

CORTLAND RED DRAGONS: 12-4 (8-1 SUNYAC) 
 
NEW PALTZ HAWKS: 12-5 (7-2 SUNYAC)