SYRACUSE, N.Y. - Sophomore Michelle Tumolo (Mullica Hill, N.J.) and freshman Amy Cross (Oreland, Pa.) each scored a career-high four goals to lead the No. 18 Syracuse women's lacrosse team to a 13-9 victory against Cornell on Tuesday, April 26 in the Carrier Dome. The Orange jumped out to 6-0 lead on its way to its third consecutive victory.
"Obviously I thought it was a very good start," said Syracuse head coach Gary Gait. "We came out ready to play, focused, energized. We really took control of the game in the first 10 or 15 minutes. Sometimes when it comes that easily you mentally relax a little bit. I think we did that, we let them back in the game. We were struggling to put the ball in the net for a few minutes. We kept going, didn't give up and finally got the few that we needed. We finished a game against a good, solid Cornell team."
The Orange (8-7) opened the game with six consecutive goals in the first 15 minutes of action. Tumolo and Cross each scored a pair of goals during the run. The teams traded goals before Cornell (5-8) netted the final three goals of the half to cut Syracuse's lead to 8-5 at intermission.
The Big Red opened the second half with unassisted goals by Katie Kirk and Kelly Lang to bring Cornell to within one at 8-7 with 21:23 to play. That was as close as the Big Red would get as Cross found the back of the net on an assist from senior Tee Ladouceur (Slingerlands, N.Y.) at the 18:59 mark, sparking the Orange on a 4-1 scoring run that sealed the win for SU. Tumolo scored twice during the run, which was capped by senior Catherine Rodriguez's (Bellevue, Wash.) free position goal with 6:16 remaining. Caroline Salisbury netted the final goal of the game for Cornell for the 13-9 final.
Tumolo led the Orange with five points on four goals and an assist, while Ladouceur dished out three assists to go along with a goal. Freshman Alyssa Murray (West Babylon, N.Y.) had a goal and an assist, and junior Sarah Holden (Syracuse, N.Y.) and freshman Katie Webster (Syracuse, N.Y.) each added a goal. Salisbury led Cornell with three goals.
Syracuse outshot Cornell, 31-24, and held a 14-10 advantage in draw controls. The Orange picked up 14 ground balls to 10 for the Big Red. SU goalkeeper Liz Hogan (Victor, N.Y.) recorded 12 saves, marking the sixth time this season she has reached double figures in saves. Kyla Dambach made 10 saves for Cornell.
With the victory, Syracuse finishes the regular season with a 6-1 mark in home games. Since the program began, the Orange is 92-21 all-time in the Carrier Dome. The win also extended Syracuse's winning streak against New York state teams in the Dome to 27.
The Orange goes on the road for its final two regular-season games this weekend. Syracuse takes on No. 7 Loyola on Friday at 7 p.m. Both teams enter the game with 5-1 records in conference play. On Sunday, Syracuse takes on Villanova at noon.
**Courtesy SU Athletics**
