ONEONTA, NY – Six days later, same outcome. Just under a week after the Hartwick women's lacrosse team ended their regular season with a 15-goal win at Russell Sage, they did the same on their home turf to the tune of a 19-4 victory in the First Round of the Empire 8 Tournament. The win, which is the first ever Empire 8 Tournament victory for the program, improves the record of the fourth-seeded Hawks to 3-3, while the Gators end their season at 3-6. 'Wick will have a stiff test in the Semifinals, as they take on #10 St. John Fisher on the road this coming Friday.
An early Russell Sage yellow card gave the Hawks just the opportunity they needed to grab control of the game, and they seized it. Rachel Hedden (Burlington, CT/Central Conn. State) sent a pass from behind the net to a streaking Claudia Pollaro (Queensbury, NY/Queensbury), who buried it at 1:36 for the game's first goal. Amy Tracy (Smithtown, NY/Florida Southern College) made it 2-0 on a free position shot just five-and-a-half minutes in, and after Sage's Grace Hines answered with a free position goal of her own a few minutes later it was all 'Wick all the time.
The Hawks scored the final 11 goals of the first half over the last 20 minutes of play, starting with an Emily Schaub (Brewster, NY/Brewster) tally assisted by Tracy at exactly the ten minute mark. There were a couple gorgeous goals throughout the run, including the very next marker that saw Pollaro control the draw, cut through the defense, and finish. The eighth Hawks' goal was more of a team effort but just as nice, as Ellie Masterpole (Syracuse, NY/Westhill) controlled the draw and dished it to Schaub, who eventually found Alexa Matarazzo (Commack, NY/Commack) for a goal just 11 seconds after the previous Hartwick score. By the time GinaMarie Wilson (East Meadow, NY/East Meadow) completed her hat trick for the final goal of the half with 6:48 to play, the outcome of the game was in little doubt.
The Gators did improve over their -12 first half margin in the final 30 minutes, but the Hawks still outscored them 6-3 and continued their runaway victory. Sage's Samantha Shafer got the period's first goal on a free position tally, but Wilson and Schaub scored 40 seconds apart before Caroline Musinski was able to put in a free position shot of her own, making the score 15-3. Hedden, Matarazzo, Cassie Durkin (Fayetteville/Jamesville Dewitt), and Schaub scored the final four 'Wick goals before the horn sounded to send the Hawks to the Empire 8 Semifinals for the first time since 2004.
Wilson was one point away from matching her career-high of nine points, which she also had in her last game (which was also against these same Gators). She had four goals and four assists on seven shots, three ground balls, and one draw control. Schaub put up five goals, also tying her career high that was set last game against Sage, as well as four ground balls and three caused turnovers. Pollaro was dynamite all around, with two goals and two assists as well as a game-high and career-best 10 draw controls, three ground balls, and one caused turnover. Tracy had four points, via one goal and three assists, and had one ground ball in addition. Jennifer Paszko (Queensbury, NY/Queensbury) was impressive in net, making eight saves (including quite a few from point-blank range) and allowing four goals to earn the win.
All four of Russell Sage's tallies were unassisted, so the quartet of Musinski, Shafer, Hines, and Brittany Gage were the team's only point-scorers. Musinski led with three draw controls, followed by Gage and Alexandra Queeney with two apiece. Laliah Espinal led her side with four ground balls and two caused turnovers. Marina Azab started the game in net, playing 14:55 and giving up nine goals on 11 shots. Carly Plaisance subbed in for the remaining 45:05, making 10 saves and giving up 10 goals.
The Hawks were dominant today, leading in every statistical category. They had a 38-3 advantage in shots, inclusive of a 31-12 lead in shots on goal. The Hawks had 18 turnovers to their visitors' 21, were 15-of-17 on clears compared to 7-of-18, had 28 ground balls scooped to Russell Sage's 17, and controlled 16 of the 24 draws.
The Hawks' Semifinals matchup against #10 St. John Fisher is set for this Friday, April 30th, with a time to be determined and announced at a later date.
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.
