CORTLAND, NY – (partially taken from Cortland Sports Information) The Hartwick field hockey team suffered a three-goal loss to a ranked opponent on Wednesday evening, falling to #16 Cortland by a 5-2 score on the road. The loss drops the Hawks to 6-3 on the season, while the Red Dragons remain unblemished at 11-0.
Cortland dominated from the get go, outshooting the Hawks 9-2 in a first quarter that featured eight Red Dragons penalty corners and several quality chances. Madison Maddocks (Garrison, NY/Walter Panas) said no, however, recording five saves in the stanza to keep the game scoreless through the opening 15 minutes.
The hosts kept it going into the second quarter and broke through under five minutes on, as Kierra Ettere beat the Hartwick back line and blasted a long shot inside the left post for the 1-0 lead. The lead was doubled just 1:05 later, as Lily Fox took Carolena Purpura's pass and sent it inside the left post. The 27th minute saw another Cortland tally, this one a Madison Rice deflection off a penalty corner. Ettere earned the helper. The Hawks got on the board in the 28th minute, as Julie Ruzzi (High Falls, NY/Rondout Valley) used a long blast from the top of the circle off a corner to make the score 3-1 at the half.
The comeback was not to be. A slower-paced third quarter still saw the Red Dragon lead grow to three, this time on a Fox penalty stroke goal at the 40:55 mark. Eterre made the lead four 94 seconds into the fourth quarter, finding herself all alone at the left post via a Fox pass and making no mistake. Lex Matarazzo (Commack, NY/Commack) notched her third of the year under two minutes later, sending a shot from the right side of the circle past a diving keeper and inside the left post. Leah Tolley (Pittsford, NY/Pittsford Mendon) picked up the assist.
The goal-scorers Matarazzo and Ruzzi were the shot leaders for the Hawks on the night, as the former led with three shots while the latter had a pair of tries at net. Maddocks played all 60 minutes in front of the cage, making a career-high 12 saves.
Cortland had a heavy advantage in both shots and penalty corners. They led the shot count 26 to 6 (17-4 in shots on goal) and picked up 17 corners to the Hawks' four.
'Wick returns home this Saturday, as they look to stay undefeated in the Empire 8 after a 1 p.m. matchup with Elmira.
Make sure to catch the latest news on all your favorite Hartwick Hawks teams by following @HawkTalk on Twitter, @hartwickhawks on Instagram, and by liking 'Hartwick Hawks' on Facebook.
