CORTLAND, N.Y. – The No. 14 College at Brockport women's lacrosse team took on the No. 3 seed SUNY Geneseo in the State University of New York Athletic Conference Tournament Semi-Finals on Friday, coming away with a big 14-8 win to advance to the tournament championship.
 
The Golden Eagles improve to 14-2 on the year while the Knights likely end their season at 12-6 in 2016.
 
With post-season implications on the line, both teams brought their do-or-die mentality. Brockport saw their counterparts score first, but came up with a strong answer with three straight scores. Jessica Boddery provided the equalizer off a Samantha Dooling set up at the 27-minute mark.
 
Andrea Zlinsky kept the scoring coming, when she connected just over a minute later, when she worked in a shot unassisted. Makensie Schuber got in on the action, burying a Kelly Wall pass to post a 3-1 lead less than five minutes into play.
 
After the Green and Gold saw the Knights post another score, Brockport again had a response, this time with a Hannah Cullen score from Keeley Rice. Rice did it again, setting up Zlinsky at the 13-minute mark, to post the 5-2 advantage.
 
Brockport kept the answers coming, and after a Geneseo goal at 10:30, the Green and Gold worked in a pair of goals. Hailey Boronczyk worked her way into the scoring column, scoring on a Wall set up. Schuber netted her second goal of the contest at the 7:14 mark, and gave the Golden Eagles the 7-3 edge.
 
In the final minutes of the half there was an onslaught of scoring, with Geneseo finding the back of the cage twice. Brockport was able to provide an answer with a pair of scores in the final 45 seconds of play from Schuber and Boronczyk for the 9-5 lead. The Golden Eagles saw the Knights net a last second goal to close the half, but took a strong 9-6 lead into the break.
 
At the half, Brockport led their counterparts in several categories including shots (18-11) and ground balls (9-4) all while going 7-for-7 in clears and forcing nine Knight turnovers.
 
Coming out of the half, head coach Stephen Wagner's squad went straight to work, with a goal from Boronczyk to open play off a Rice set up for the 10-6 lead. 
 
The Golden Eagle defense held strong for a stretch, but Geneseo was able to break through and net a goal at 19:33, but it didn't take long for the Green and Gold to answer when Wall found Boddery on an inbounds pass, with Boddery taking advantage of an open goal and lifting the Golden Eagles 11-7.
 
The scores kept coming for the Green and Gold, as Rice worked into the scoring column, beating the Geneseo net minder one-one-one to give the Golden Eagles the 12-7 lead.
 
The Knights added their eighth goal, but Wall was able to answer with a pair of back-to-back scores. Her first came off a free position, dodging three Knights and burying a shot high, followed by another unassisted goal, again beating the Geneseo defense to bury an acrobatic shot, and give Brockport a 14-8 edge with seven minutes remaining in the contest.
 
Brockport's defense held strong and worked to control possession though the remainder of the contest, and held on to post the 14-8 win and keep their season alive.
 
The Golden Eagles led in several categories with a 28-17 edge in shots, an 18-15 advantage in ground balls and a 13-11 edge in draws. Brockport also forced 21 Geneseo turnovers and went 16-for-17 on clears.
 
The offense production was well spread, with seven different Golden Eagles working into the scoring column. The defense played a big role in the win, with Courtney Szczesniak leading the way with four caused turnovers. Schuber and Wall each added two CTs on the day. Lauren Mancini picked up four ground balls, with Schuber, Katie Curran and Wall each snagging two.
 
In the draw circle, Brockport proved strong, with Ciara McKeon leading the way with six draw wins and Szczesniak adding three.
 
Sara Shaddock picked up her 14th win of the season, with 60 minutes in goal for the Golden Eagles, stopping five shots.
 
The Golden Eagles season will continue as they advance to the SUNYAC Championship to face the No. 1 ranked SUNY Cortland who punched their ticket to the finals earlier today defeating the No. 4 seed Oswego, 19-10.  The Green and Gold will look to avenge their earlier loss to Cortland in the regular season, a close contest despite the final 17-7 score in the April 19th matchup. The championship contest will take place tomorrow, April 7 with the opening draw set for 12 p.m.
 
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