ONEONTA, N.Y. – The No. 8 Salisbury University field hockey team captured the 2026 State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) Championship on Saturday afternoon, defeating No. 23 Cortland 4-2 at College Field. The Sea Gulls claim the SUNYAC Title for a second stright season.
Salisbury opened the scoring in the first quarter when Devon DeGregory converted a penalty stroke at 12:32 to give the Sea Gulls a 1-0 lead.
Cortland answered at 22:32 to even the score at 1-1. Salisbury responded less than two minutes later. At 24:31, Dakotah Trader scored off a pass from Layla Kent to put the Sea Gulls back in front, 2-1, heading into halftime.
The Sea Gulls extended their advantage early in the third quarter. At 31:19, Alex Kupper finished a feed from Trader to make it a 3-1 Salisbury lead.
Salisbury added an insurance goal in the fourth quarter when Trader scored at 46:40, with Regan Worley recording the assist. Cortland pulled one back on a penalty stroke at 56:52, but the Sea Gulls held on for the 4-2 victory and the SUNYAC title.
Game Notes
- Layla Kent tallied an assist, while Dakotah Trader two goals and an assist.
- Salisbury outshot Cortland 25-7 and held a 15-4 advantage in shots on goal.
- The Sea Gulls earned 10 penalty corners, compared to six for the Red Dragons.
- Maddie Castaneda made two saves in goal.
All-Tournament Team
Oswego: #8 Layla Sharp and #99 Sam Krautheim
Oneonta: #10 Abby Draper and #97 Eva Klessel
Cortland: #10 Olivia Specht, #17 Kaylee Hughen, and #23 Tori Peterson
Salisbury: #3 Devon DeGregory, #12 Regan Worley, #14 Alex Kupper, #24 Layla Kent
MVP From Salisbury: #31 Dakotah Trader
The Sea Gulls finish the regular season with a 15-3 record along with the SUNYAC title. They will await their NCAA Tournament destiny during the NCAA selection show tomorrow at 9 p.m.
Salisbury University is a proud member of NCAA Division III with primary membership in the Coast-to-Coast Athletic Conference, along with affiliate membership in the New Jersey Athletic Conference (football, men's & women's swimming), Coastal Lacrosse Conference (men's lacrosse), State University of New York Athletic Conference (field hockey), and Colonial Women's Golf Conference (women's golf). With over 500 student-athletes in 23 varsity sports, SU is recognized as one of the nation's most competitive intercollegiate athletics programs regardless of division, featuring dedicated coaches and staff that foster excellence on and off the field. The Sea Gulls have won a combined 23 team national championships, 26 individual national championships, and 212 conference championships, and have produced 54 Academic All-Americans.
To Make Tomorrow Yours at Salisbury University, and learn more about Sea Gull Athletics' tradition of excellence, visit SUSeaGulls.com or follow on social media @SUSeaGulls.
