Memphis, Tenn. – The Transylvania women's lacrosse team was outdueled by the No. 13 SUNY Cortland Red Dragons, 18-5 in the first round of the 2021 NCAA Division III Women's Lacrosse Championship on Saturday afternoon at Mason Field.
Another campaign for the Pioneers which culminated in the NCAA Tournament ended with an overall record of 11-5 while the Red Dragons moved on to the second round of the NCAA Tournament to face host Rhodes College, improving their record to 13-1 this season.
Making their third straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament and third overall in program history, the Pioneers unveiled stout defense from first draw and worked towards the opening strike of the match. Cortland broke through to the fan twice in the opening minutes of the game but Abi Waldron denied the Red Dragons for two of her nine saves in the first half to kickstart multiple counterattacks by the Pioneers.
Courtney Pontious staked the Pioneers to a promising afternoon with the first score of the day at the 25:05 mark of the first half for a 1-0 Transylvania lead. Cortland recovered with a goal off the following draw control to square up the game at 1-1. The goal sparked a run of four unanswered goals by the Red Dragons, who grew their lead to 4-1 with 20 minutes left in the first half.
Pontious dazzled again with her second goal of the match, her 61st goal of the season, to cut into the Cortland lead at 4-2 with 19:48 to go in the first half.
Cortland answered the Pontious delivery with its fifth score of the game at the 17:45 mark of the first half. The Pioneers rose to the occasion again as Salem Carlow spun away from defenders in the fan and slotted through her first goal of the day to cut the deficit to 5-3 with under 13 minutes to go in the half.
Cortland soon thereafter earned an advantage opportunity and the Pioneers extinguished the first 1:58 of it before the Red Dragons found a free position shot to take a 6-3 lead. The free position goal set off a run of six straight goals to end the half as the Red Dragons secured an 11-3 halftime advantage.
The Red Dragons took advantage of a carryover advantage situation to kickstart two straight goals to begin the second half on the way to a 13-3 outlook. Carlow responded with her second goal of the game on a brute-force strike, powering past defenders to cut the Red Dragon lead to single digits with 25 minutes to go in regulation.
Transylvania mustered a final goal in the second half as Pontious improvised from a free position attempt and found a cutting Mandi Rider, who rocketed home her first goal of the day with 14:11 remaining in regulation. The Red Dragons stalled the Pioneers for the rest of the afternoon to secure the first-round victory.
Pontious rounded out an illustrious three-year career for the Pioneers with two goals and one assist, and added a team-high four ground balls to go with two draw controls and one caused turnover. Fellow captain Salem Carlow led all Pioneers with three draw controls in addition to her two goals.
After having an upstart 2020 season halted by the worldwide pandemic, the Pioneers returned to the field for a full season in 2021, emerging undefeated out of the Heartland Collegiate Lacrosse Conference to collect their third straight conference championship and conclude the season winning nine of its final 10 matches.
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