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MONTCLAIR, N.J. – The State University of New York at New Paltz field hockey team won its first-ever NCAA Division III Field Hockey Tournament game on Wednesday against No. 9 William Smith College, 5-2, but the Hawks look to avenge last year's NCAA Tournament first-round loss on Saturday, taking on No. 5 Bowdoin College at Montclair State University's Sprague Field at 2 p.m.

Records: New Paltz comes into Saturday's game with a 14-8 overall record, while Bowdoin is 14-3 overall.

Statistical Leaders: New Paltz relies on a high-scoring offense, and Danielle Conklin serves as the key cog in its operation. Conklin leads the SUNYAC in goals scored (27), assists (14) and points (68). She also 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 goals (34), assists (25) and points (93). 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 (19) and 10th (9) in the SUNYAC in goals, respectively. Ackerman is fourth in the conference in points (45) 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 .736 save percentage and has two shutouts this season. Pjetri holds the career program record in shutouts (14) and saves (437).

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. New Paltz beat No. 9 William Smith College, 5-2, in the 2013 NCAA Division III Field Hockey Tournament's first round on Wednesday, marking its first-ever NCAA Tournament victory. Danielle Conklin was just one goal away from tying the NCAA Division III Tournament single-game record of five, as she had four goals and one assist in the win.

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 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 55-44. 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 honros. 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 Polar Bears: Bowdoin, which is affiliated with the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC), qualified for the NCAA Tournament via one of five Pool "C" bids. The Polar Bears have been one of the more dominant teams in NCAA Division III over the course of the past few years, having won national championships in 2007, 2008 and 2010. Bowdoin has been 16-2 in its past 18 NCAA Tournament games overall, and it marks the program's 11th appearance in the national tournament. Last year, the Polar Bears topped New Paltz, 6-1, in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in Brunswick, Maine, which was the first-ever meeting between the two teams. Bowdoin lost to Tufts University, 2-1, last year in the third round of the tournament. Rachel Kennedy paces the Polar Bear attack with the second-most goals (16) in the NESCAC. Katie Riley is prominent on offense, too, with 16 goals and a conference-leading 15 assists and 47 points. As a team, Bowdoin leads all of Division III in scoring margin (3.52). Nicky Pearson is in her 18th season as the Polar Bears' bench boss, and she is responsible for assembling Bowdoin's three NCAA championship teams. Pearson is a seven-time NESCAC Coach of the Year.

Last Meeting: (Box Score): Bowdoin topped New Paltz, 6-1, during the first round of the 2012 NCAA Division III Field Hockey Tournament on Nov. 7, 2012, ending the Hawks' 10-game winning streak… Bowdoin scored the game's first five goals—all of which came in the first half—before then-freshman forward Dani Ackerman rattled the back of the cage for New Paltz in the 33rd minute… Then-junior forward Katie Riley finished with a three-goal, one-assist evening for the Polar Bears… Then-junior goalkeeper Antonija Pjetri, who would go on to win All-America honors from two different organizations, turned aside nine shots in the loss.

What's Next: The winner of Saturday's second-round game between New Paltz and Bowdoin faces the winner of Saturday's other second-round contest between No. 16 Mount Holyoke College and No. 1 Montclair State at 1 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 17, at Montclair State's Sprague Field. The winner of that third-round game advances to the national semifinals, which will be held from Friday-Sunday, Nov. 22-24, in Virginia Beach, Va.