ONEONTA, NY – Hailey Pooler (Adams Center, NY/South Jefferson) became the Hartwick women's lacrosse program's all-time assist leader with 10:19 to go in the second half on Wednesday afternoon, delivering her 87th career helper to break a record held for over 20 seasons. The Hawks fell behind early on the road to intra-town rival SUNY Oneonta, ultimately dropping the game, 18-4. The Hawks are now 1-3 on the season, while the Red Dragons won their fourth in a row and moved to 4-1.
The hosts struck first just under three minutes in, when Kelsey Cohen fired home her 19th goal of the season. She was followed up 24 seconds later by a free-position goal from Sophia Calabrese and 2:40 after that by an Erin Fowler tally (assisted by Cohen). The Red Dragons kept up the intensity for the rest of the half, as three goals by Victoria Varone, two from Shannon Giddens, and one each from Cohen, Calabrese, Christen Patalano, Lauren Bascelli, and Maggee Sheridan gave Oneonta a 13-0 lead at the break.
The home advantage shot up to 17 in the first 15:33 of the second half, as Cohen put in three more goals, interrupted only by a Lily Avazis finish in between. Emma Knapp (Canandaigua, NY/Marcus Whitman) got the Hawks on the board with 12:03 to go, converting on a free-position shot. Under two minutes, later, Pooler got her record breaker, assisting on GinaMarie Wilson's (East Meadow, NY/East Meadow) team-leading eighth goal of the season to make the score 17-2. Deirdre Buckley answered back for the Red Dragons just about five minutes later, although the Hawks ended with goals by Cassie Durkin (Fayetteville, NY/Jamesville Dewitt) (her first of the season) and Pooler (assisted by Wilson) to finish on a 4-1 run.
Wilson had the best all-around day for 'Wick, controlling four draws and scooping two ground balls in addition to her goal and assist. Pooler had a goal on a team-high three shots and her record-breaking assist, as well as a ground ball and caused turnover. Durkin matched her goal with two draw controls, a caused turnover, and a ground ball, and Amy Tracy (Smithtown, NY/Florida Southern College) had team highs with four ground balls and two caused turnovers (the latter a tie for the game high, too). Ashley Jablonowski (Levittown, NY/Island Trees) and Jennifer Paszko (Queensbury, NY/Queensbury) split time in net for the Hawks. The reigning Empire 8 Conference Goalkeeper of the Week Jablonowski had six saves on 19 shots in the first half, while Paszko had three stops on eight attempts in the final thirty minutes.
SUNY Oneonta had a sizeable possession advantage, with 30 shots to Hartwick's nine, as well as a 27-7 lead in shots on goal. The Red Dragons also led by a large margin in ground balls, 27 to 18, and draw controls, 17 to 6. The raw turnover battle was more even, with 'Wick coming out on top, 25 to 23. The hosts had the advantage in clears, going 19 for 22 compared to Hartwick's 14 for 25.
Cohen stayed hot for Oneonta, scoring a game-high five goals on eight shots, giving her 23 on the year. She also had an assist, a draw control, and a ground ball on the day. Varone contributed all-around for the Red Dragons. In addition to her first-half hat trick (on three shots), she controlled a game-high six draws, scooped a game-high five ground balls, and tied for the game high with two caused turnovers. Sheridan had four points in the game (a goal and three assists), while Avazis matched Varone with three points (a goal and two assists).
Hartwick tries to snap their three-game losing streak next week, when they play SUNY Plattsburgh at Wright Stadium on Tuesday, March 19, at 4 p.m.
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