NEW PALTZ, N.Y. – After winning its third-consecutive State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) title on Saturday over SUNY Geneseo, the State University of New York at New Paltz will head to Little East Conference (LEC) champion Keene State University on Wednesday, Nov. 12 in the first round of the NCAA Division III Tournament.
BATTLE OF THE BIRDS: The Hawks come into Wednesday's contest with a 14-6 mark and winners of three straight games… The Owls are 19-4 and have won 15 consecutive contests... This will be the first-ever meeting between the Hawks and the Owls on Wednesday… New Paltz is led by sixth-year head coach
Shanna Vitale (69-51 overall)… Keene State is guided by 25
th-year head coach Amy Watson (359-162-11 overall)... Both teams have fared well against like-opponents this season with New Paltz and Keene State defeating both Western Connecticut State and RPI.
THE NEW PALTZ HAWKS (14-6)SUNYAC TITLES: 2014, 2013, 2012 (3)NCAA APPEARANCES: 2014, 2013, 2012 (3)NCAA RECORD: 1-2 (Last won 5-2 over William Smith in 2013 First Round) REACHING THE NCAA TOURNAMENT: The Hawks, the No. 3 seed in the SUNYAC Tournament, knocked off No. 4 seed SUNY Geneseo 4-0 on Saturday in the title game... Junior back
Jessica Caruana scored in the third minute of action… Senior midfielder
Deirdre O'Neill knocked in a marker in the 10
th minute… Junior forward/midfielder
Dani Ackerman added a goal in the 53
rd minute while sophomore forward
Kayla McKeveny tacked on the final score in the 65
th minute… Junior goalkeeper
Alayna Wageman made 10 saves en route to being named the Tournament MVP… Caruana, O'Neill, Ackerman and McKeveny were all named to the All-Tournament Team.
Box Score I
Recap SCOUTING THE HAWKS: New Paltz is 8-3 on the road this season… The Hawks have played a pair of teams selected to the NCAA Tournament this year… New Paltz defeated Utica 4-2 on Sept. 6… The Hawks fell to Skidmore on Sept. 13… New Paltz has won two one-goal games and has one overtime victory… The Hawks have earned four All-SUNYAC selections this season as Ackerman, Caruana and O'Neill were First Team honorees and McKeveny was named to the Second Team... Following the title game, Caruana and Wagemen were named the SUNYAC Offensive and Defensive Players of the Week, respectively.
STATISTICAL LEADERS: The Hawks have three double-digit goal scorers and six players with 12 or more points… McKeveny leads the team with 26 points… Freshman forward
Justine O'Reilly leads the squad with 11 goals… Ackerman has fired in 10 goals and leads the team with 104 shots… O'Neill has recorded eight goals and eight assists… Caruana has registered five goals and eight helpers… Sophomore forward
Erin Landy has four goals and four assists… Freshman forward
Sam Eberle and senior forward
Alex Gallo both have four goals each… McKeveny and O'Neill have three game-winning goals apiece… Caruana is 2-for-3 on penalty strokes… Wageman is 14-6 with a goals-against average (GAA) of 1.69, a .761 save percentage, 102 saves and three shutouts.
TEAM STATISTICS: New Paltz has outscored teams 25-16 in the first half and 31-18 in the second period… Overall, the Hawks have outscored opponents 57-34, outshooting teams 404-230… New Paltz has attempted 249 penalty corners while allowing 102.
LAST YEAR IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT: New Paltz defeated No. 9 William Smith College in the opening round last year 5-2… Ackerman tallied a goal while Caruana added an assist…
Danielle Conklin '14 scored four goals to lead the attack… In the second round, the Hawks bowed out to No. 5 Bowdoin College 5-2…
Alicia Aragosa '14 and Conklin registered goals while Ackerman added an assist.
THE KEENE STATE OWLS (19-4)LEC TITLES: 2014, 2013, 2011, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004, 1999, 1998 (10)NCAA APPEARANCES: 2014, 2013, 2011, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004, 1999, 1998 (10)NCAA RECORD: 2-8 (Last won 3-0 over Gordon in 2013 First Round) REACHING THE NCAA TOURNAMENT: The Owls erased a 1-0 deficit on Saturday to defeat the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth 3-1 in the LEC Championship…This is the second-straight LEC title for Keene State... Senior forward Marisa Lemoine scored twice while sophomore midfielder/forward Brittney Cardente added on goal… Sophomore forward Sami Smith chipped in an assist… Junior goalkeeper Meaghan Dwyer made eight saves… Lemoine led the attack with five shots.
Box Score I
Recap SCOUTING THE OWLS: Keene State has won 15 straight games and are 11-2 at home this year… All four of the Owls' losses have come via shutout… Keene State has won seven one-goal games and three overtime contests… The Owls went 11-0 in LEC play this season… Keene State allowed just six goals in regular season conference action... Dwyer leads the LEC with a 1.05 GAA... Smith is tops in the LEC in game-winning goals (6).
STATISTICAL LEADERS: The Owls have seven players with 14 or more points… Smith leads the team with 14 goals and 33 points… Smith has scored six game-winning goals… Lemoine has tallied 13 goals and 31 points… Senior back Melissa Habelow has notched nine goals and has registered seven defensive saves… Freshman forward Mariah Barnett and sophomore forward Kayla Renaud both have eight markers… Cardente has registered 17 points… Sophomore back/midfielder Marita Brothers has three goals and eight assists with six defensive saves… Dwyer is 15-3 with a GAA of 1.05, an .835 save percentage, 91 saves and five shutouts.
TEAM STATISTICS: The Owls have outscored teams 66-22, holding a 454-249 shots advantage… Keene State has fired 321 shots on goal.
LAST YEAR IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT: The Owls defeated Gordon 3-0 in the opening round… Lemoine notched one goal while Haylie Dolan recorded a goal and assist… Dwyer made two stops in the shutout… In the second round, Keene State was knocked out by Skidmore 11-1 which marked the most goals scored in NCAA Tournament history.
WHAT'S NEXT: The winner of this contest will take on No. 4 The College of New Jersey (19-1) in the Second Round on Saturday, Nov. 15 in Ewing, N.J.
