CORTLAND, N.Y. – The Plattsburgh State women's lacrosse team fell to defending conference champion and 24th-ranked SUNY Cortland, 15-5, in the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) opener for both teams on Saturday afternoon at the SUNY Cortland Stadium Complex.
 
Cortland finished with a 30-14 edge in shots, a 14-9 advantage in draw controls and a 15-12 margin in ground balls while going 16-for-17 on clears.
 
Plattsburgh State falls to 1-4 overall (0-1 SUNYAC) with the loss and next hosts Russell Sage College on Wednesday, March 30, at 4 p.m. Cortland rises to 3-4 overall (1-0 SUNYAC) with the win and next visits SUNY Oneonta on Wednesday, March 30, at 4 p.m.
 
Cortland jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the opening 5:16 of the contest before junior midfielder Lindsay Guzzetta (East Islip, N.Y./East Islip) cashed in on a feed from first-year defender/midfielder Rachel LaMar (Ballston Lake, N.Y./Shenendehowa) to draw Plattsburgh State within 2-1 with 1:47 left in the first quarter. The Red Dragons netted two more goals in the final 55 seconds to build a 4-1 lead through 15 minutes of play. Cortland then outscored Plattsburgh State, 5-0, in the second quarter to take a 9-1 advantage into halftime.
 
The Red Dragons tacked on three more goals to open the third quarter, while Guzzetta scored woman-up on a free-position shot with 2:50 remaining in the third. Junior defender/midfielder Emma McLaughlin (Northport, N.Y./Northport) tallied 2:26 into the fourth quarter before Cortland netted three unanswered goals. Guzzetta scored a pair of goals in the final 4:05 to spell the final score of 15-5.
                                                                                                                            
Guzzetta paced the Cardinal attack with four goals, while McLaughlin scooped up three ground balls and caused two turnovers.
 
For Cortland, senior attacker Lauren Hopsicker led the way with six points on three goals and three assists, while senior midfielder Keech scored three goals and added an assist. Sophomore attacker Toni Cashman and graduate student midfielder/attacker Hanna Lorenzen each tallied four points on two goals and two assists. Junior midfielder Madelyn Czyz controlled four draws, while sophomore defender Julie Kadletz picked up three ground balls and registered two caused turnovers.
 
Senior goalie Alexa Cassidy (Warwick, N.Y./Warwick Valley) and sophomore goalie Johanna Malone (Levittown, N.Y./Division Avenue) made four and two saves, respectively, for the Cardinals, while graduate student goalie Paige Potter stopped three shots in the win for the Red Dragons.