Hughen’s OT Winner Sends Cortland Field Hockey to Eighth Straight SUNYAC Finals

Cortland Sports Information Department

NEW PALTZ, NY – Kaylee Hughen (Lake Hopatcong, NJ/Boonton) fired the game-winning goal 2:10 into overtime to lift the Cortland field hockey team to a 2-1 victory at New Paltz in the semifinals of the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) tournament on Friday afternoon. Cortland improves to 8-10 on the year, while New Paltz finishes the season with a 10-9 record. 
 
The Red Dragons advance to face nationally fifth-ranked Salisbury in the conference championship game on Saturday at noon. Salisbury defeated Oneonta, 6-0, in Friday's other semifinal. This is the eighth consecutive season that Cortland advanced to the finals of the conference tournament.
 
Hughen's goal was her second of the season, and first game-winning goal of her collegiate career. Adrienne Mayes (Vestal) scored Cortland's goal in regulation on a penalty stroke to tie the game at 1-1. Emma Morgan (Whitney Point) made one save in goal, while Lillian Morse (Burnt Hills/Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake) made a defensive save for the Red Dragons.
 
Gail Comiskey stopped eight shots in goal for the Hawks. Miranda Britton scored New Paltz's lone goal, with Meghan Gunning providing the assist on the goal. 
 
Cortland earned three penalty corners in the opening quarter of play, and registered the only shot on goal of the period, a shot Anna McCarthy (Bay Shore) that was stopped by Comiskey with just over six minutes left in the period. 
 
New Paltz recorded its first shot on goal six minutes into the second quarter, as Morgan was able to stop Rachel Tama on a chance. With five minutes left in the half, Morse was denied by a strong save from Comiskey, as the game stayed scoreless into halftime with Cortland having a 2-1 edge in shots on target. 
 
New Paltz struck for the opening goal of the game with 6:07 remaining in the third quarter on the first shot on target by either team in the second half. Britton inserted a penalty corner to the top of the circle, where Gunning fired a shot that looked to be heading wide of the goal but was redirected by Britton at the left post and into the back of the cage. 
 
With under three minutes left in the half, Cortland equalized after the assistance of a video replay review, which was being utilized in the conference tournament. After the review, the referees determined that New Paltz had committed a foul inside the circle and awarded a penalty stroke to the Red Dragons. Mayes stepped up an deposited the penalty stroke into the goal for her team-leading seventh goal of the season. 
 
Early in the fourth quarter, the referees again used video review to check a play inside the Cortland circle for a potential foul, but determined that no infraction by the Red Dragons had occurred. 
 
Minutes later, Comiskey made three saves in less than 15 seconds of game action to deny two chances by Sadie Hoffmann (Miller Place) and another opportunity for Tori Peterson (Whitney Point). 
 
With under six minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, the Red Dragons were forced to play for five minutes down a player after a yellow card. The Cortland was able to allow New Paltz just one shot attempt in the final minutes, a shot by Tama that Morse was able to knock down in front of the Cortland goal. 
 
Just 1:28 into the 7-on-7 overtime, Cortland picked up another yellow card, but the Hawks were given a green card to keep the teams even in players. Shortly after, Hughen picked up the ball down the right side of the field, dribbled towards the middle of the field around a defender, and blasted a reverse-stick shot into the top left corner of the net, just off the underside of the crossbar and in for the game winner.