Box Score Box Score

NEW PALTZ, N.Y. – The State University of New York at New Paltz women's lacrosse team (6-8, 1-4 SUNYAC) scored a big win for the program on Tuesday afternoon at the Turf Field, as a 21-20 victory over SUNY Oswego (3-7, 0-5 SUNYAC) gave the Hawks their first win over a State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) team since the program's reinstatement in 2009. New Paltz's last league victory came on Friday, March 29, 2002 against SUNY Potsdam, a game in which the Hawks won, 12-2.

In addition, senior attack player Samantha DelGaudio (Northport, N.Y./Northport) bettered the program record in single-season assists, as she pushed her season total to 30 after entering the game tied for the standard with 28. DelGaudio also dished out 28 assists in 2011.

New Paltz appeared destined for an easy victory early, as the team received goals from DelGaudio, junior attack player Erin Tornatore (Glen Cove, N.Y./North Shore) and sophomore attack player Talia Tesler (Rochester, N.Y./Brighton) in the first five minutes to take a 3-0 lead. Oswego countered with three straight markers, which came from Rachael Raffa, Danielle Citro and Erin Cummings, to knot the tally at 3-all. Freshman midfielder Julia Johnson (Bayport, N.Y./Bayport-Blue Point) and junior attack player Juli Rehain (Suffern, N.Y./Suffern) each scored unassisted to give the Hawks a 5-3 edge, while freshman midfielder Carissa Citro (Miller Place, N.Y./Miller Place) netted two straight—the first of which came off a Johnson pass—to swell the differential to four. Johnson capped New Paltz's five-goal run with an unassisted goal with 15:18 on the clock.

As would be the case all game, the Lakers crawled right back in it. Cummings and Corinne Marsh each found the back of the net before freshman midfielder Lianne Valdivia (Kingston, N.Y./Kingston) netted her only goal of the afternoon. Cummings scored once and Raffa struck twice to pull Oswego with one goal at 9-8, but Tornatore cashed on a free-position attempt to make it 10-8 in favor of the home team with 3:11 remaining in the first. Finally, Cummings brought the Lakers back within one with an unassisted goal with less than two minutes to play, and 10-9 would stand as the halftime margin.

With the extra attacker for the first 1:51 of the second half, Oswego was unable to capitalize in the early goings of the yellow card infraction, as C. Citro scored off a Johnson feed before Johnson found the back of the net unassisted. Cummings released the penalized New Paltz player with a man-up goal with 28:35 to go in the second half, but senior midfielder Julia Donato (Fayetteville, N.Y./Fayetteville-Manlius) scored back-to-back markers in less than a minute to push the Hawk edge out to 14-10.

That lead did not last for long, as Oswego once again captured the momentum. Cummings used a Candace Tarana pass to open the scoring spree, while Kasey Kuzma scored unassisted just 15 seconds later. Raffa accounted for the next three Laker goals, which gave the visitors their first lead of the game (15-14) with 21:01 remaining in regulation. Donato broke up the spurt with a goal off a Valdivia assist, but Raffa and Cummings each scored shorthanded to push the Laker edge to two.

New Paltz rose from the ashes once again, getting a goal from DelGaudio before Johnson tied the game at 17 apiece with 12:31 left in the second stanza. DelGaudio capitalized on a Donato pass to regain the lead, but Stephanie Cronk answered back with a game-tying score with 10:56 remaining. Sixteen seconds after Cronk's goal, Donato scored, but D. Citro put a ball past the Hawk goalkeeper shortly thereafter to tie the game at 19-all once again.

Under 10 minutes, C. Citro gave the Hawks a 20-19 cushion with 8:40 left in the period before Donato made it a two-goal game four minutes later off a Tornatore feed. With New Paltz trying to possess and hold onto the lead, Raffa tallied her eighth goal of the game and 52nd of the season with 2:35 to go to pull Oswego within one. New Paltz played clutch pressure defense down the stretch, and despite the fact that the Lakers had opportunities to set up the equalizer, it never materialized for the visitors.

Donato led the Hawks with five goals, while Johnson and C. Citro each had four. DelGaudio netted a hat trick, while Tornatore (2), Tesler (1) and Valdivia (1) rounded out New Paltz's scoring. Johnson and DelGaudio each boasted two assists, while Valdivia, Tornatore and Donato each picked up one. Tornatore was once again dominant off the draw with a game-high eight draw controls, and she also came up with five ground balls.

Oswego's scoring production largely came from Raffa and Cummings, who put away eight and seven goals, respectively. D. Citro scored twice, while Kuzma, Marsh and Cronk buried one marker apiece. Coming off the bench, Candace Tarana had the game-high in assists with three. Kuzma and Liz Conrad each caused issues for the Hawks with their stellar defense, as the pair forced three turnovers apiece.

Senior goalkeeper Stefanie Mignone (Farmingville, N.Y./Sachem East) picked up the win in between the pipes, as she turned aside six shots in 49:45 of action. Freshman goalkeeper Jackie Ulanoff (Northport, N.Y./Northport) saw 10:15 of playing time midway through the contest. For Oswego, Ashlee Engle drew the start in goal and did not earn a decision, making nine saves in 32:37 of work. Lauren Marois was tagged with the loss coming off the bench, as she set aside nine shots in 27:23 of action.

New Paltz outshot Oswego, 45-35, and held a 25-18 edge off the draw. The Lakers went just 16-for-28 on clear attempts, while the Hawks were 14-for-19.

The Hawks will celebrate Senior Day on Saturday, April 21, as they host SUNY Geneseo at 1 p.m. at the Turf Field.