The Buffalo State women’s lacrosse team was tested Saturday afternoon when they went on the road to take on No. 1 Cortland (15-0).

The undefeated Red Dragons were too much for the young Buffalo State unit to handle, as they lost, 20-6.

Despite being outmatched and dropping to 4-11 on the season, head coach Lindsay Abbott took several positives away from the match.

“The girls learned a lot from this loss,” she said. “It’s always tough to lose that much to a team, but it’s a good learning curve for them to see the level of play that we would like to achieve one day.”

Senior attacker Sarah Lorusso believes that over the course of the season, the team has struggled with consistently controlling possession and holding onto leads late in the game.

“We need to work on consistency and taking care of the ball,” she said. “Both of those aspects really make a difference.”

Buffalo State continued to struggle in those areas against Cortland, losing the draw control battle 17-11 and giving up 14 turnovers.

The top ranked team in the nation, Cortland was as good as advertised. Buffalo State kept the game close early on, trailing 4-2 in the first quarter, but the Red Dragons began to run away with it shortly after, scoring four straight.

The Bengals entered the second half trailing 15-4.

Buffalo State could only muster two goals in the second half, finishing with their lowest goal total this season – six.

Cortland’s defense wasn’t tested often as Buffalo State only generated 17 shots on goal.

Cortland held Buffalo State’s top three goal scorers Lorusso, sophomore Alanna Herne and sophomore midfielder Christina Krowel to only one goal each.

Junior midfielder Cassie Saint-Vil continued her scoring streak, adding two more against the Red Dragons.

As for Cortland, their offense and defense was hitting on all cylinders. Kristen Ohberg had three goals and eight assists for 11 total points. Tara Monaghan had a game-high five goals and three different Cortland goaltenders combined to make seven saves.

From a statistics standpoint, the Bengals have found success on the offensive side of the field, as they rank fifth in goals per game.

Both Herne and Krowel are top ten in the SUNYAC in goals per game while Herne, Krowel and Lorusso all finished atop the shots per game category.

With only two games remaining, Buffalo State isn’t in a position to make a final playoff push, as they sit at 4-11 (1-6 SUNYAC). However, the team hopes to get back to basics and continue to improve in the areas that will be necessary for a successful 2017 campaign.

The Bengals will get set to host Fredonia this Tuesday.

“We need to focus on the basics and just have fun,” Herne said. “We play best when we’re having fun. Everything seems to fall into place that way.”

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