Salisbury and Cortland Set Up SUNYAC Final Rematch; RPI’s 14-Game Streak Meets Union’s Double-OT Drama
Friday was semifinal day across Division III, and it delivered everything: a 7-0 rout, a double-overtime thriller, and a one-goal game decided in the final minutes.
SUNYAC: Salisbury 7, Cortland 2 — final is a rematch
Defending champions Salisbury beat Oswego 7-0 in Oneonta. Six different players scored, Layla Kent opened it up in the 6th minute, it was 4-0 by half-time, and the shots finished 42-2. That’s about as one-sided as a semifinal gets.
Cortland’s route was tighter. They beat Oneonta 2-0, with both goals coming within 63 seconds of each other in the middle of the second quarter. So the final, today at 1pm ET (11pm PKT) in Oneonta, is No. 1 Salisbury against No. 3 Cortland: a rematch of last year’s final, and Cortland’s ninth straight SUNYAC final. Salisbury want a second straight title. Cortland want revenge.
Liberty League: RPI keep rolling, Union survive
RPI beat Rochester 3-0, with all three goals coming in the fourth quarter. That’s a 14th straight win, a 15-2 record, and the first regular-season title in program history. They are, right now, the hottest team in Division III.
Union’s semifinal was the game of the day. They beat Vassar 4-3 in double overtime, per a BVM Sports summary of the game, with Maggie Monaghan scoring twice from penalty strokes, including the winner 81 seconds into the second overtime period. Union lost last year’s final to Vassar, so this one meant something. The final is Sunday at 1pm ET: No. 20 RPI against Union, at RPI.
CFHC and PSAC
Sewanee beat Mary Washington 1-0, Shepard Ramsey scoring the winner with just over four minutes left after three scoreless quarters. The final is Sunday at 11am CT against No. 1 seed Rhodes.
And in the PSAC’s regular-season finale, No. 2 Shippensburg beat No. 5 IUP 2-0, Elaina Fragassi and McKenna Boyle scoring in the first six minutes of the second half. Shippensburg finish 14-2 and 8-1 in the PSAC, clinch the No. 1 seed, and will host next week’s PSAC tournament semifinal on Friday and the final on Sunday.
For our money, the SUNYAC final is the pick of today’s games. Salisbury have been ruthless, Cortland have been to nine straight finals, and last year’s final between these two is still fresh. But keep an eye on RPI on Sunday too. Fourteen straight wins doesn’t happen by accident.
