CORTLAND, N.Y. – Under the sweltering SUNY Cortland sun, the #25 Roger Williams University Women's Lacrosse team saw their 2022 season come to a close, dropping a tightly contested game to #16 SUNY Cortland, 14-11 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Sunday afternoon at the Cortland Sports Complex. The one-two punch of Mandy Beck (Old Saybrook, Conn.) and Lily Cunningham (Melrose, Mass.) did everything in their power to lift the Hawks, scoring five and four goals respectively, but in the end, they were no match for the Red Dragons' balanced attack.
 
Despite the loss, RWU did have their best season since the team's inception, breaking into the national rankings for the first time and finishing a program-best 16-2. The hosting Red Dragons improve to 17-4 and will advance to the third round where they will encounter #7 TCNJ.
 
Hannah Goodwin (Bradford, Mass.) faced the third-most shots on goal this season with 21, allowing 14 goals against seven saves to fall to 16-2 for RWU. Paige Potter (Cortland, N.Y.) improved to 17-4 for Cortland, by making 11 saves against 11 goals allowed.
 
Hawk Highlights
Mandy Beck: 5 goals, 1 draw control
Lily Cunningham: 4 goals, 1 ground ball, 2 caused turnovers, 5 draw controls
Nikki Norton: 2 assists, 1 ground ball, 1 caused turnover
Devon Sarazin: 2 assists, 1 caused turnover
 
Hannah Goodwin: 7 saves, 14 goals allowed, 3 ground balls, 60:00 minutes in goal
 
For The Opponents
Hannah Lorenzen: 5 goals, 2 assists, 1 caused turnover, 2 draw controls
Toni Cashman: 2 goals, 2 assists, 1 ground ball, 1 caused turnover
Hannah Keech: 2 goals, 1 assist, 1 ground ball, 1 caused turnover, 3 draw controls
Lauren Hopsicker: 2 goals, 2 caused turnovers
 
Paige Potter: 11 saves, 11 goals allowed, 0 ground balls, 60:00 minutes in goal
 
How It Happened
Roger Williams wasted little time making their presence known against the hosting SUNY Cortland. After Ryleigh Cavanaugh (Manchester, N.H.) won the opening draw the Hawks required just 42 seconds to get on the scoreboard, as it was who else but Mandy Beck (Old Saybrook, Conn.) who broke the ice with RWU's quickest tally since early March. She worked from the top, straight-away maneuvering to her right before shooting it back across the crease to the upper-left corner to give RWU the quick edge. Ever less time ticked off the clock before the team's second tally as a mere 20 seconds later, Nikki Norton (Braintree, Mass.) found the slashing Lily Cunningham (Melrose, Mass.) down the middle of the arch, going to the bottom right corner of the goal to make it two-nil Roger Williams. The leading scorers for each squad traded the next two tallies as Hannah Lorenzen (Stony Brook, N.Y.) got the Red Dragons on the board and Beck responded with a tally of their own before the home squad went on a run. Four consecutive goals ensued for Cortland with Amy Hoeffner (Bay Shore, N.Y.) lighting the spark with her 18^th of the season. Lorenzen got her second of the contest to even things at three-all as the Red Dragons found their footing then Toni Cashman (East Moriches, N.Y.) thrust Cortland in front. The hosts tacked on one more with just seven seconds remaining in the frame as Hannah Keech (Penn Yan, N.Y.) scored on a free-position chance while on the man-advantage to make the score 5-3 after one.
 
Lorenzen got her third score of the contest on a man-up chance, but it was the lone tally to occur throughout the opening half of the second quarter for either side. The last 7:30 would be a totally different story as both offenses re-found their groove. Lorenzen's fourth came with a man-disadvantage for the Red Dragons, making their lead four tallies. Cunningham would refuse to go down without resistance though, notching back-to-back scores while a man down then on a free-position attempt, respectively. Cortland called a timeout and whatever they discussed, it worked, with Keech finding the back of the net on a man-up chance. RWU responded shortly after with Devon Sarazin (Falmouth, Maine) weaving through the defense at the top of the arch before finding Brooke McErlain (Hampton, N.H.) wide open right in front of the net to get the deficit back to a pair. Gabby Meager (Syracuse, N.Y.) got one for the hosts then Beck got one back, escaping a trap with a juke before beating Paige Potter (Cortland, N.Y.) for the score with an even sixty seconds on the clock. With 12 seconds left in the half, Lauren Hopsickler (Burnt Hills, N.Y.) took advantage of a free-position chance making the score 10-7 heading into the locker room. 
 
The defenses ruled in the third quarter of action as the scoring became sparse. Lorenzen got yet another tally for the hosts but that would be all for the Red Dragons in the frame. Roger Williams battled back by getting scores from Karli Chapin (Cape Elizabeth, Maine) and Beck to cut the deficit to two and set up a dramatic final stanza, and it would live up to the hype.
 
Meager and Cashman got the first two scores for Cortland to make the lead four with 11 minutes to play but the Hawks would not go quietly. Cunningham got a free-position attempt but got hacked to get a second shot at it. On the second free-position attempt, this time on the man-up opportunity, she converted. The Hawks kept the pressure up and Beck notched a free-position tally with about five minutes remaining but that was as close as they got. Potter would make a point-blank save on a shot by Beck with three and a half left and the Red Dragons largely ran out the clock from there, scoring once more to make the final tally 14-11.
 
What's Next
This concludes the season for the Roger Williams Women's Lacrosse team.