Box Score

CORTLAND, N.Y. – In a battle of two of the highest-scoring offenses in NCAA Division III, the State University of New York at New Paltz field hockey team was unable to come up with a win, falling, 3-2, to No. 16 SUNY Cortland in a State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) game on Friday afternoon at Cortland's Stadium White.

With the loss, New Paltz can no longer be either the No. 1 or No. 2 seed in the 2013 SUNYAC Field Hockey Tournament. Cortland locked up the tournament's top seed with the victory and will host the four-team event from Friday-Saturday, Nov. 8-9. SUNY Geneseo, which has already finished SUNYAC play at 5-1, will be the No. 2 seed. If New Paltz beats SUNY Oswego tomorrow or if SUNY Oneonta loses to Cortland, the Hawks will clinch the No. 3 seed. The Hawks have already secured a spot in the conference tournament regardless of this weekend's outcomes.

Senior forward Danielle Conklin (Suffern, N.Y./Suffern) established a program record in career assists (21) with a pair of helpers in the contest, pushing past the former mark of 19 that was shared between her and Sarah Schloss (2007-10).

New Paltz drops to 9-7 overall and 3-2 in the SUNYAC with the loss. The Hawks face Oswego in their final conference game of the season tomorrow afternoon at 1 p.m. Cortland rises to 10-2 overall and 5-0 in the conference. The Red Dragons round out their SUNYAC slate tomorrow afternoon at 1 p.m. against Oneonta.

Cortland sophomore defender Amber Czaja put the Red Dragons on the board early, ripping a long blast from the right side that deflected off a defender and into the cage in the fifth minute. After nearly 30 minutes of scoreless play, Conklin fed freshman forward/midfielder Kayla McKeveny (Holbrook, N.Y./Sachem East) in the 32nd minute, and McKeveny launched a shot that found the back of the cage from the middle of the circle to knot the tally at 1-all. That score would hold up heading into the halftime intermission.

The Red Dragons wasted no time going back up on the scoreboard in the second half, scoring 4:03 into the new period to take a 2-1 lead. Freshman forward Shelby Underwood cashed in on a pass from senior defender Erin Smith on the score. Conklin continued her prolific offensive season in the 48th minute, as she played in a ball to senior midfielder Lauren Link (Hauppauge, N.Y./Smithtown West) that was one-timed into the cage from the top of the circle. The Red Dragons forged ahead less than 10 minutes later, as a long carry by sophomore midfielder Jillian Vogl wound up being deflected into the goal by senior forward Karly Vdoviak.

New Paltz made one final push to even the score in the final 1:08 of play. The Hawks earned two penalty corners during that span, and the potential game-tying score by sophomore forward Dani Ackerman (Nesconset, N.Y./Smithtown East) was denied by the Red Dragons' freshman goalkeeper Mairead Hourihan with 36 second to go in regulation. Junior midfielder/defender Deirdre O'Neill (New City, N.Y./Clarkstown South) uncorked a shot that went wide left four seconds later, and Cortland was able to run out the clock to seal the win.

Senior goalkeeper Antonija Pjetri made four saves in the loss, while Hourihan stopped five shots in the victory.

New Paltz finished with a 14-13 edge in shots and a 7-6 cushion in penalty corners.