Box Score

NEW PALTZ, N.Y. – The State University of New York at New Paltz women's lacrosse team (7-9, 2-5 SUNYAC) equaled its highest win total in a season (seven) on Tuesday afternoon at the Turf Field by triumphing over SUNY Potsdam (4-11, 1-7 SUNYAC), 18-14. The win also gave New Paltz its highest number of State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) wins in a year (two). It also marked the 2012 home finale for the Hawks.

The team, in its first year under the control of head coach Liz Student, tied last season's win total by winning its seventh game of the year. After collecting the program's first conference win since its rebirth in 2009, Student now sits one conference win away from sole ownership of the program record for most SUNYAC wins over a career.

Freshmen midfielders Carissa Citro (Miller Place, N.Y./Miller Place) and Lianne Valdivia (Kingston, N.Y./Kingston) each scored five goals in the Hawk effort. Valdivia added two assists to her stat line, while Citro led the home team with seven ground balls and tied the game lead with four caused turnovers. Senior attack player Samantha DelGaudio (Northport, N.Y./Northport) added six points to her season-long haul on one score and five assists. Sophomore attack player Talia Tesler (Rochester, N.Y./Brighton) earned four markers of her own and tacked on a single assist.

Junior attack player Erin Tornatore (Glen Cove, N.Y./North Shore) extended her program record in single-season draw controls to a total of 90 with her six won draws on the day. Tornatore also holds the program record for career draw controls, with 157 to date. The junior added one goal and one assist to the winning effort.

The Bears were led by Maribeth Simmons and her six points, coming from five goals and one assist. Sierra Lankammerer added three goals and one assist to the Potsdam attack, while goalkeeper Kaci Milligan collected the most ground balls of any player in the contest with 10.

The Hawks opened the game with two unanswered goals, one each by Citro and Valdivia, in the first 2:36 of action. After allowing a score by Whitney Boshart, New Paltz rattled off another two markers within 18 seconds of each other. Tesler scored off a DelGaudio feed at 24:27, with senior midfielder Julia Donato (Fayetteville, N.Y./Fayetteville-Manlius) netting the next goal off a Tesler pass at 24:09.

Potsdam tied the game, 4-4, at the 19:03 mark after three unanswered goals. New Paltz regained the lead with 17 minutes left in the first half, courtesy of a Tesler goal assisted by Valdivia. Valdivia then scored the next two goals, unassisted, to stake the Hawks to a 7-4 lead with 12:50 remaining in the first period. After the Bears got within a point at the 9:58 mark, Tornatore responded with her lone goal on the day to keep the Hawks up. Potsdam scored one more goal in the half, before allowing a four-goal barrage by the Hawks to end the first half. New Paltz led by a 12-7 margin at the break.

The teams traded scores three times to open the second half before Citro put two straight shots past the keeper, giving the Hawks a 17-10 advantage with 13:26 remaining. The teams traded goals one last time before the Bears put together a scoring run of three consecutive goals. Those three goals would prove to be the final markers of the match, as Potsdam could not get closer than an 18-14 final score.

Senior goalkeeper Stefanie Mignone (Farmingville, N.Y./Sachem East) earned her seventh victory of the year after playing 38:54 and saving five shots. She was relieved in the middle of the game by freshman Jackie Ulanoff for 21:06 of game time. Ulanoff registered one stop. Milligan took the loss for Potsdam, playing all 60 minutes while accruing 13 saves.

New Paltz took 41 shots in the game, with 31 going on goal. Of Potsdam's 23 shots taken, 20 were on target. The Hawks won both the ground ball battle, 39-28, while also earning more draw controls, 18-16. Potsdam struggled with clear attempts, only converting 13 of its 29 chances, while New Paltz went 15-for-19 on its attempts.

The Hawks play their final game of the year on Saturday, April 28, when they travel northwest to take on Buffalo State at 1 p.m., in each program's final regular season SUNYAC game of 2012. With a victory, New Paltz would earn its best winning percentage in program history.