CORTLAND, N.Y. - SUNY Geneseo junior midfielder Elena Hingston and first-year forward Cara Stafford each scored a goal to lead the fourth-seeded Knights to the 2-1 upset of top-seeded Cortland in the semifinals of the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) Field Hockey Tournament, Wednesday.

Junior goalie Dayna Mercer was credited with 13 saves as Geneseo (9-11) will now travel to third-seeded New Paltz on Saturday for the SUNYAC Championship game at 1:00 p.m. The winner will receive an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. New Paltz upset second-seeded Oneonta, 3-2, in the afternoon's other semifinal. 

Hingston got the Knights on the board in the sixth minute of play. On Geneseo's fourth-consecutive penalty corner attempt in less than two minutes, Hingston took a feed from junior forward Kailey Suhr and bounced a shot on goal from the top-left of the circle that found the inside of the right post to put the visitors on top early. 

Cortland (14-3) had a chance at the equalizer in the 24th minute after being awarded a penalty stroke, but Mercer was able to smother a low shot by Abigail Wentlent that never got off the ground to preserve the Knights' lead heading into halftime.

Cortland, which entered the week ranked No. 15 in the latest NFHCA Division III poll, poured on the pressure as the second half progressed, but it was Geneseo weathering the storm that included a 13-2 advantage in penalty corners by the Red Dragons over the final 35 minutes of play. 

The Knights took a 2-0 lead in the 62nd minute on a penalty corner attempt of their own. Suhr took a shot from the top of the circle that was saved off Cortland goalie Mairead Hourihan's left pad, but the deflection went right to Stafford, who was waiting on the goal line for a tip into the empty right corner of the cage. Her 11 goals are the most in one season by a Geneseo first-year, breaking the previous record (10) set by Meg New in 1999. She is also one point shy of tying New's first-year scoring record (26). 

Cortland finally broke through with a goal in the 67th minute after Gabby Stein's shot from the left side barely trickled over the goal line just before a Geneseo defender could clear it to make it a one-goal game.

In the final frantic minutes, the Red Dragons were awarded one last penalty corner with under 50 seconds to play, but Mercer logged her final save to preserve the victory.

Making its fifth-consecutive appearance in the SUNYAC Tournament, Geneseo advances to the championship game for the second time in program history. The Knights defeated Cortland, 1-0, in the 2010 conference final in their only other appearance.