Box ScoreBLOOMSBURG, Pa. – The State University of New York at New Paltz field hockey team (8-7, 4-2 SUNYAC) earned the No. 3 seed into the 2011 State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) Field Hockey Tournament after defeating SUNY Geneseo (8-8, 3-3 SUNYAC), 2-1, on Saturday afternoon at Bloomsburg University in a SUNYAC contest.
The Hawks face second-seeded SUNY Oneonta in the semifinals of the SUNYAC tournament on Friday, Nov. 4, at 1:30 p.m. The 2011 SUNYAC Field Hockey Tournament will take place on the campus of top-seeded SUNY Cortland in Cortland, N.Y., from Nov. 4-5.
Freshman forward
Alex Gallo (Cortlandt Manor, N.Y./Hendrick Hudson) opened scoring in the first half, beating the Geneseo goalkeeper in the 30th minute. Entering halftime, both teams held similar shot totals, as New Paltz held a slight 7-6 edge in shots. The Blue Knights, however, held most of the momentum in the second half, firing off 17 shots to the Hawks' three and taking eight penalty corners to New Paltz's one.
Geneseo's Kayla DeAngelis buried her conference-leading 14th goal of the season in the 41st minute, but senior forward
Stacey Miller (Lindenhurst, N.Y./Lindenhurst) scored unassisted just more than a minute later, collecting her own rebound and rattling the back of the cage.
Despite numerous chances to level the tally, the Blue Knights were unable to produce the equalizer, and New Paltz emerged victorious over Geneseo for just the second time in program history. The Hawks are now 2-10 all-time against the Blue Knights, with their only other victory in program history coming in 2004.
On the afternoon, Geneseo outshot New Paltz, 23-10, and held a 15-8 cushion in penalty corners.
Sophomore goalkeeper
Antonija Pjetri (Suffern, N.Y./Suffern) earned the win in goal with a four-save effort, while Geneseo's Caitlyn Dowell turned aside one shot in the loss.
New Paltz returns to action on Monday, Oct. 24, taking on non-conference Ramapo College at 4 p.m. in Mahwah, N.J.
