PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – The Plattsburgh State women's lacrosse team scored in each quarter but ended up falling to No. 19 SUNY Cortland, 19-5, in State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) action Wednesday afternoon at the Field House Complex.
 
With two ground balls, senior midfielder Emma McLaughlin (Northport, N.Y./Northport) pushed her season total to 40, breaking the program's single-season record of 38 that Claire Wiley set in 2019. McLaughlin is already the program record holder in career ground balls with 96 and counting.
 
The Red Dragons held the upper hand in shots (44-14) and draw controls (22-6) in addition to going 15-for-17 on clears. The Cardinals, who were 11-for-21 on clears, owned an 18-16 edge in ground balls.
 
Plattsburgh State falls to 5-6 overall (1-4 SUNYAC) with the loss and next visits Oswego State on Saturday, April 15, at 12 p.m. Cortland rises to 9-3 overall (5-0 SUNYAC) with the win and next hosts Buffalo State on Saturday, April 15, at 3:30 p.m.
 
Cortland scored the first two goals of the game before senior midfielder Lindsay Guzzetta (East Islip, N.Y./East Islip) tallied on a pass from McLaughlin midway through the first quarter to cut the gap to 2-1. The Red Dragons tacked on two more scores in the opening stanza to lead, 4-1, through 15 minutes of play.
 
The visitors broke the game open with six unanswered goals in the second quarter, while senior attacker Kate Kennedy (Waddington, N.Y./Massena) tallied unassisted with a minute remaining to whittle the deficit to 10-2 at the half.
 
Cortland buried five unanswered goals in the third before Guzzetta converted on a pass from first-year attacker Cynthia Barnosky (Shirley, N.Y./William Floyd) with 3:03 remaining in the third quarter, while the Red Dragons netted the final goal in the third before scoring the first three goals of the fourth. Guzzetta scored on a feed from sophomore attacker Maddy Garcia (New Paltz, N.Y./New Paltz) and Barnosky buried a free-position shot to close out scoring in the contest.
 
Guzzetta finished with three goals to pace the Cardinal attack, while Barnosky notched a goal and an assist. McLaughlin led the defense with three caused turnovers and two ground balls, while sophomore defender/midfielder Rachel LaMar (Ballston Lake, N.Y./Shenendehowa) scooped up four ground balls.
 
For Cortland, graduate student attacker/midfielder Amy Hoeffner posted six points on five goals and an assist, while graduate student attacker Lauren Hopsicker (three goals, two assists) and junior attacker Toni Cashman (two goals, three assists) each recorded five points. Hoeffner also led the way on the draw with 11 draw controls, while graduate student defender Kayla Sweeney collected three ground balls and caused two turnovers.
 
Senior goalie Lilla Nease (Lake Forest, Calif./El Toro) made the second-most saves in a single game in program history, turning aside 14 Red Dragon shots. Cortland was led by first-year goalie Margaret Morgan, who made four saves.