November 6, 2010

Geneseo Wins 2010 Field Hockey Championship

GENESEO, N.Y. - Senior Erin Zalewski (New Hartford) scored with less than eight minutes remaining as the top-seeded and nationally 20th-ranked Geneseo field hockey team defeated second-seeded and 12th-ranked Cortland, 1-0, in the SUNYAC Championship Saturday afternoon. With the win the Knights improve to 18-1 winning their 17th straight game and their first SUNYAC field hcoekcy championship in program history, snapping Cortland's 10-year streak. With the loss, the Red Dragons dropped to 15-4 on the season. Both teams await possible at-large berths into the NCAA Div. III playoff field, which will be announced Monday morning.

Geneseo had a chance to score in the opening 35 minutes on a penalty corner when senior Michelle Milkovich's (Vestal), tournament MVP, shot but denied on a defensive save by Brittany Wilson (Farmingville) at the 22:19 mark to keep the half scoreless.

The Knights tallied the game winner at 62:04 when Zalewski scored on a rebound. Geneseo's Stephanie Maisonet (Pine Bush) sent a penalty corner to the top of the circle, where Milkovich blasted a shot originally saved by Cortland goalie Ashley Huges (Selden). Zalewski collected the rebound, took one hit right and knocked the rebound past Hughes. Cortland was unable to generate a scoring opportunity for the remainder of the game and Geneseo held on to capture the title.

The Blue Knights controlled play in the Red Dragon end, but Cortland had several opportunities in transition. Geneseo posted 15 shots and 10 penalty corners, while Cortland posted six shots and five corners. Geneseo Sophomore Caitlyn Dowell (Massapequa) made three saves to post her fifth shutout of the season. Hughes stopped six shots for the Red Dragons. Zalewski, sophomore defender Aly Tarney (Baldwinsville) and first year defender Bridget McGovern (Yorktown Heights) joined Milkovich on the All-Tournament team for Geneseo, while Wilson, sophomore Sara Woodward (Pine Plains) and sophomore Liz DeWaters (Lockport) earned All-Tournament for Cortland.

Although the Knights won the conference crown, there is not an automatic bid to the NCAA Div. III playoffs for the winner this season.

ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
Michelle Milkovich, Geneseo, MVP
Erin Zalewski, Geneseo
Bridget McGovern, Geneseo
Aly Tarney, Geneseo
Liz DeWaters, Cortland
Sara Woodward, Cortland
Brittany Wilson, Cortland
Sarah Schloss, New Paltz
Amy Lee, New Paltz
Alaina Demeree, Brockport
Kasey Schreiner, Brockport