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Printable BracketNEW PALTZ, N.Y. – On Wednesday, Nov. 13, the State University of New York at New Paltz field hockey team will look for a reversal of fortunes after last year's first-round exit, as the Hawks take on No. 9 William Smith College at 4 p.m. in the first round of the 2013 NCAA Division III Field Hockey Tournament at McCooey Field in Geneva, N.Y.
Pricing: Ticket prices are $5 for general admission and $3 for students, senior citizens, military personnel with a valid ID and children ages 3-12. Children under 3 are admitted free of charge.
Records: New Paltz enters Wednesday's contest with a 13-8 overall record. William Smith is 15-4 overall.
Statistical Leaders: New Paltz relies on a high-scoring offense, and
Danielle Conklin serves as the key cog in its operation. Conklin is tied for first in the SUNYAC in points (59) and is ranked first in the conference in assists (13) and second in the conference in goals scored (23)... Conklin has rewritten the program's record books, as she set single-season marks in goals, assists and points this season in addition to claiming career program records in assists (24) and points (84)... Among NCAA Division III leaders, she ranks 11th in the nation in points per game (2.81) and 17th in the country in goals per game (1.10). Beyond Conklin,
Dani Ackerman and
Jessica Caruana rank fifth (18) and 10th (9) in the SUNYAC in goals, respectively... Ackerman is fifth in the conference in points (43) and tied for eighth in the SUNYAC in assists (7), while
Alyssa Stock is seventh in the conference in assists (9)...
Antonija Pjetri, who earned All-America honors from two different organizations in 2012, holds a .732 save percentage and has two shutouts this season... Pjetri holds the career program record in shutouts (14) and is five saves away from the program's career mark. She has 429 stops in goal on her career.
Second Time's a Charm: For the second time in as many years, and for the second time ever, New Paltz finds itself in the NCAA Division III Field Hockey Tournament... In both years, the Hawks qualified for the tournament via the SUNYAC's automatic bid... In doing so, New Paltz has knocked SUNY Cortland, who is usually a perennial lock to participate in the tournament, out of the national playoff picture... Cortland, which had a 14-3 overall record this year, was denied one of the tournament's five Pool "C" bids... In the Hawks' first-round game last year, they lost, 6-1, to Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine.
Tough Schedule: New Paltz owns one of the tougher schedules in NCAA Division III, having faced two teams this season that qualified for the 2013 edition of the NCAA Tournament: Skidmore College and Montclair State University... In addition, the Hawks squared off with four different teams who held a ranking in the NFHCA Division III National Top-20 Poll, including a then-No. 14 Cortland team that they beat in the championship final of the SUNYAC Field Hockey Championship Tournament.
On the Offensive: New Paltz is one of the more prolific scoring teams in NCAA Division III with a 3.85 scoring average... That is the SUNYAC's second-highest average, with Cortland's 4.69 leading all of Division III... The Hawks twice scored a program-record 11 goals this season, doing so in back-to-back games against Ramapo College (Sept. 13; W, 11-1) and Morrisville State College (Sept. 18; W, 11-0).
Summary of the SUNYAC Tournament: The Hawks played the role of the underdog in this year's SUNYAC Tournament, holding the No. 3 seed after regular-season losses to top-seeded SUNY Cortland and second-seeded SUNY Geneseo in conference play... A 3-1 victory over Geneseo in the semifinal put the Hawks against Cortland in a rematch of last year's championship game, which was held at the Turf Field... The host Red Dragons nearly got knocked out of the tournament in the semifinal round, needing a goal with time expired to force overtime against SUNY Oneonta before prevailing, 2-1, in the extra session... Against Cortland in the final, New Paltz fell into a 4-2 hole late in the game, but a pair of goals from
Lauren Link and
Kayla McKeveny in the final 10 minutes of regulation forced overtime... After two scoreless periods of overtime, the game went to a sudden-victory shootout, which New Paltz ultimately won off a shootout goal by
Dani Ackerman... That gave the Hawks a 5-4 victory and marked the second time in as many years that they prevailed over Cortland in the SUNYAC final in shootout fashion... New Paltz's two SUNYAC final wins over Cortland are its only two victories over the Red Dragons in the history of the program.
SUNYAC Tournament MVP:
Kayla McKeveny, who scored unassisted in the 67th minute, knotted up the score against Cortland and was given SUNYAC Tournament MVP honors in recognition of her timely goal... She also was named the SUNYAC Player of the Week for the week ending Nov. 10, 2013.
All-Tournament Selections: Joining
Kayla McKeveny on the SUNYAC All-Tournament Team were
Madeliene Forrester,
Alyssa Stock and
Danielle Conklin... It marked the second straight year in which Forrester and Stock gained recognition on the All-Tournament Team.
All-Conference Teams:
Danielle Conklin,
Madeliene Forrester and
Alyssa Stock were picked to the 2013 All-SUNYAC First Team, while
Dani Ackerman was chosen to the 2013 All-SUNYAC Second Team, as announced by the conference office on Tuesday... It marks Conklin's second All-SUNYAC recognition, as she was honored on the All-SUNYAC First Team in 2012... Forrester picks up her third All-SUNYAC laurel, as she was picked to the All-SUNYAC First Team in 2012 and the All-SUNYAC Second Team in 2011... Stock was selected to the All-SUNYAC First Team for the third time in as many years, following up on her First-Team honors in 2011 and 2012... Ackerman, a sophomore, receives All-SUNYAC kudos for the first time in her career... Head coach
Shanna Vitale was also selected as the SUNYAC Coach of the Year, marking the third straight year in which she has received that honor.
About Coach Vitale:
Shanna Vitale, who is finishing up her fifth year at the helm of the New Paltz field hockey program, has guided New Paltz to back-to-back SUNYAC titles and back-to-back NCAA Division III Field Hockey Tournament appearances... She received Synapse Sports NCAA Division III National Coach of the Year recognition in 2012, and she has earned consecutive SUNYAC Coach of the Year awards in 2011, 2012 and 2013... As the program's all-time winningest coach, she holds a career overall record of 54-44... Vitale coached New Paltz to its best record in program history in 2012, as the Hawks had never had a winning record prior to her arrival... Vitale has coached one SUNYAC Player of the Year, and she has mentored 13 student-athletes to All-SUNYAC honors... Under her stewardship, the Hawks have never missed the SUNYAC Field Hockey Tournament since its inception in 2010... Vitale is a 2002 graduate of Lock Haven University, where she played on the Lady Eagles' field hockey team... While she was there, Lock Haven captured the 2000 national championship.
Scouting the Herons: William Smith enters the NCAA Tournament with a 15-4 overall record... The Herons secured one of the five Pool "C" bids in the tournament, as they lost to Skidmore College in the championship game of the Liberty League Tournament... William Smith is led offensively by Taylor Cappello and Julia Simmons, who rank fifth (14) and 10th (11), respectively, in the Liberty League in goals scored... Capello also holds the team lead in assists (8) and points (36)... Margaret McConnell was named the 2013 Liberty League Defensive Player of the Year, while Alessandra Patrizio was tabbed as the 2013 Liberty League Rookie of the Year... McConnell, Cappello and Melanie O'Connor were selected to the All-Liberty League First Team, while Patrizio, Caitlin Moran and Morgan Atanasio were picked to the All-Liberty League Second Team... This marks William Smith's 21st appearance in the NCAA Tournament, and the Herons are 32-17 all-time at the NCAA's postseason event... They won national championships in 1992, 1997 and 2000... Wednesday's game marks William Smith's first-ever meeting with New Paltz... The Herons are led by Sally Scatton, who has helmed William Smith's field hockey program since 1988.
What's Next: The winner of Wednesday's game moves on to the second round, which will be hosted on Saturday, Nov. 16, at Montclair State University. Wednesday's winner will match up with No. 5 Bowdoin College at 2 p.m. Saturday at Montclair State's Sprague Field.