CORTLAND, N.Y. — Fresh off a dominant 5–0 shutout at Morrisville the night before, extending their unbeaten start to conference play and maintaining a spotless defensive record against SUNYAC opponents, the Plattsburgh State women's hockey team continued their road weekend on Saturday with a matchup against Cortland. Historically, the Cardinals have controlled the series with a 57-5-1 all-time record, though last season saw a more competitive split at 2–2 across four meetings.
Cortland challenged early, capitalizing on their chances to build a 3–1 lead through the opening period. Plattsburgh's lone goal of the first came when Emily Kasprzak (Niagara, N.Y.) curled behind the net and centered a pass to the slot, where Tessa Morris (Grand Island, N.Y.) streaked into the play and finished the feed to cut into the deficit. Despite trailing by two heading into the second, the Cardinals settled in and began to tilt the ice.
Plattsburgh struck again early in the middle frame. Working from behind the net, Molly Riggi (Farmingdale, N.J.) centered a pass to Kayson Ruegge (Edmond, Okla.), whose initial shot was turned aside. Zoe Puc (West Palm Beach, Fla.) jumped on the rebound for another attempt that was also stopped, but Riggi followed the play and buried the third effort, pulling the Cardinals within one. The momentum continued to build, and Plattsburgh drew even later in the period. Off a clean offensive-zone faceoff win by Morris, Brooke Terry (Massena, N.Y.) collected the puck and fired a quick shot toward goal that found its way through traffic and into the back of the net, tying the game at 3–3.
With the Cardinals fully in control, the third period opened with the go-ahead strike. After a blocked point shot from Taya Balfour (Moorestown, N.J.) redirected into the slot, a streaking Ella Fesette (Plattsburgh, N.Y.) pounced on the loose puck and buried the chance, completing the comeback and giving Plattsburgh its first lead of the night just 3:18 into the period. From there, the Cardinals locked down defensively and closed out the 4–3 victory, improving to 5–1–0 overall and 4–0–0 in SUNYAC play.
The win extends Plattsburgh's unbeaten conference run and showcases yet another resilient effort from a team that continues to respond in key moments.The Cardinals will participate in the Cardinal/Panther Classic next weekend, hosted by Middlebury, where they will take on No. 1–ranked University of Wisconsin–River Falls on Nov. 29 at 6 p.m.