NEW PALTZ, N.Y. - The State University of New York at New Paltz field hockey team is coming off a 2-1 overtime penalty shootout victory at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) last Wednesday and prepares to host Rowan University in a home contest on Wednesday, Oct. 29 at 3:30 p.m.
RECORDS: The Hawks enter the contest at 11-5 and are winners of six out of the last seven contests... New Paltz has clinched the No. 3 seed in the upcoming State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) postseason... The Rowan Profs sit at 12-3 and are on nine-game win streak... Rowan are tied for first place in the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) with a 5-0 mark.
SCOUTING THE HAWKS (11-5): Against RPI, junior forward/midfielder
Dani Ackerman scored the Hawks' lone goal off a pass from senior midfielder
Deirdre O'Neill on a penalty-corner opportunity in the 31
st minute... Junior goalkeeper
Alayna Wageman recorded 11 saves against the Engineers... Junior back
Jessica Caruana and Ackerman each converted their penalty shots in the shootout to earn New Paltz the win... The Hawks outshot RPI 36-21, including an 18-2 cushion in the two overtime periods... Ackerman shot 10 times, each effort being on goal, while sophomore forward
Kayla McKeveny recorded seven shots... Ackerman leads the SUNYAC in shots with 90 and averages 5.63 shots a game... Caruana and O'Neill are ranked fourth and fifth, respectively, in the league for assists, with seven and six helpers... Wageman has the second lowest goals-against average (GAA) in the league, boasting a 1.75... The Hawks are 4-2 at home this season.
STATISTICAL LEADERS: Freshman forward
Justine O'Reilly leads the team in points (22) and goals (10)... Ackerman has 90 shots, 59 being on goal, eight goals and three assists... McKeveny ranks second in shots with 50, 30 being on net, and has seven goals and five assists... O'Neil has six goals and six assists... Caruana leads the team in assists with seven... Eight different players have scored for New Paltz ... McKeveny and O'Neill each have three game-winning goals... Wageman has started in all sixteen games, facing 172 shots while making 81 saves to earn a .757 save percentage.
TEAM STATISTICS: The Hawks have outscored opponents, 46-27, while outshooting teams 330-182... New Paltz has shot on goal 211 times and average 20.6 shots per game, holding opponents to an average of 11.4... New Paltz has earned 205 penalty corners and have successfully converted three penalty strokes.
SCOUTING THE PROFS (12-3):After a 3-3 start to the season, Rowan has rattled off nine-straight wins including a 3-2 overtime victory at No. 12 Montclair State on Saturday... Rowan is ranked No. 4 in the South Atlantic Region and are receiving votes in the national poll... Junior forward Sam Browne and senior midfielder Karlee Henderson scored in regular time with junior midfielder Marisa Marini notching the game-winner in overtime... 17th-year head coach Penny Kempf earned her 250th career win on Oct. 22 when the Profs defeated Ramapo 6-0... Freshman goalkeeper Carly DeMarco earned NJAC and Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Rookie of the Week honors for the period ending Oct. 19... Browne ranks third in the NJAC with 17 goals... DeMarco leads the league with four shutouts.
STATISTICAL LEADERS:Browne leads the team with 17 goals and 38 points... Johanna James has 13 goals, 28 points and 45 shtos... Jenna Pressler has notched nine goals (four game-winners) and six assists... Marini and Kellie Campbell lead the squad with seven assists each... 16 players have recorded at least one point with six players registering 11 points or better... DeMarco is 12-3 with a GAA of 1.44, a .733 save percentage, 68 saves and four shutouts.
TEAM STATISTICS:Rowan has outscored teams 60-20, holding a 274-149 shots margin... The Profs hold a 192-96 shots-on-goal edge... Rowan has attempted 191 penalty corners... The Profs have outscored team 30-13 in the first half and 29-6 in the second stanza.
LAST MEETING: The Hawks were unable to overcome halftime deficit in 6-4 loss to Rowan when these teams last met on Oct. 12, 2013.WHATS NEXT: New Paltz remains at home to host Vassar College on Saturday, Nov. 1 at 1 p.m.... Rowan hosts The College of New Jersey on Saturday at 7 p.m. in NJAC action.
