NEW PALTZ, N.Y. – The 2014 State University of New York Athletic Conference Field Hockey Championship will be on the line Saturday, Nov. 8 as two-time defending champion No. 3 seed State University of New York at New Paltz will host No. 4 seed SUNY Geneseo.
RECORDS: The Hawks are 13-6 overall, having won two straight contests and post a 5-3 mark at home… The Knights are 9-11 with a 5-8 mark in road games.
NO. 3 NEW PALTZ (13-6)SUNYAC CHAMPIONSHIP APPEARANCES: (3) 2014, 2013, 2012
SUNYAC TITLES: (2) 2013, 2012
HOW THE HAWKS ADVANCED: The Hawks advanced to their third-straight SUNYAC title game by defeating No. 2 seed SUNY Oneonta 3-2 on Wednesday… Junior back
Jessica Caruana notched her fourth goal of the year in just the fifth minute of play… Freshman forward
Justine O'Reilly scored her 11
th marker of the season in the 10
th minute… Sophomore forward
Kayla McKeveny tallied her ninth goal of the year in the second half as New Paltz held off the Red Dragons in the semifinals… New Paltz outshot Oneonta 17-5 and held an 11-3 shots-on-goal margin… Sophomore forward
Erin Landy and senior midfielder
Deirdre O'Neill both picked up assists… Caruana led the team with five shots… O'Reilly, McKeveny and junior forward/midfielder
Dani Ackerman all fired off three shots… Junior goalkeeper
Alayna Wageman made one stop.
Recap I
Box Score STATISTICAL LEADERS: McKeveny leads the team with 24 points behind nine goals and six assists… O'Reilly leads the way with 11 goals… Ackerman has tallied 22 points and has fired off a team-best 98 shots, with 62 on target… O'Neill has contributed seven goals and seven assists… Caruana has notched four goals and seven helpers… Landy, senior forward
Alex Gallo and freshman forward
Sam Eberle all have four goals apiece… McKeveny and O'Neill both have three game-winning goals… Caruana is 2-of-3 on penalty strokes… Wageman is 13-6 with a goals-against average (GAA) of 1.78, a .742 save percentage, 92 saves and two shutouts.
TEAM STATISTICS: The Hawks have outscored opponents 53-34, holding a 384-214 shots margin… New Paltz holds a 245-137 shots-on-goal edge… The Hawks have attempted 234 penalty corners while allowing just 93… New Paltz has outscored teams 23-16 in the first half and 29-18 in the second period.
TITLE GAME SUCCESS: The Hawks have won the last two SUNYAC titles in 2012 and 2013, both double overtime shootout victories over Cortland … In 2013 (W, 5-4), Ackerman, Caruana and McKeveny all tallied scores… In 2012 (W, 2-1), O'Neill notched the regulation New Paltz goal in the team's debut in the championship match.
NO. 4 GENESEO (9-11)SUNYAC CHAMPIONSHIP APPEARANCES: (2)
2014, 2010
SUNYAC TITLES: (1)
2010
HOW THE KNIGHTS ADVANCED: The Knights upset No. 1 seed and SUNY Cortland 2-1 in the semifinals on Wednesday evening… Cortland was ranked No. 15 in the National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) national poll... Junior midfielder Elena Hingston notched her second goal of the year in the sixth minute of play… Freshman forward/midfielder Cara Stafford tallied her 11
th score of the season in the 62
nd minute as the Knights held off a Cortland comeback… Geneseo found a way to win despite being outshot 20-8 and outgained on penalty corner attempts 18-6… Junior goalkeeper Dayna Mercer recorded 13 saves while sophomore backs Maria Premo and Liz Doherty both earned defensive saves… Hingston and junior forward Sarah Malinak both fired a team-best two shots… Junior forward Kailey Suhr registered an assist against the Red Dragons.
Recap I
Box Score STATISTICAL LEADERS: Stafford leads the Knights with 11 goals and 25 points… Malinak has tallied six goals and nine assists for 21 points… Malinak leads the squad with 63 shots, including 37 on target… Freshman forward Emma Dempsey has four goals (three game-winners) and five helpers for 13 points… Suhr has notched four goals and four assists… Hingston, senior back Ashley Favata and sophomore forward Amy Fasel all have two markers apiece… Mercer is 9-11 with a 2.59 GAA, a .762 save percentage, 163 saves and one shutout.
TEAM STATISTICS: The Knights have been outscored this season 52-35 while being outshot 384-247… Geneseo averages 1.8 goals per game and 12.4 shots per game.
TITLE GAME SUCCESS: In the program's first SUNYAC Championship appearance in 2010, the Knights defeated Cortland 1-0 on a goal in the 63
rd minute… The victory was Geneseo's 17
th straight win and broke Cortland's 10-year title streak... This is the fifth-straight year the Knights have been in the SUNYAC Tournament.
LAST MEETING: The Hawks defeated the Knights 3-1 back on Oct. 4 on Upper Alumni Field at Geneseo… Ackerman scored two goals… McKeveny tallied a goal and an assist… For Geneseo, senior forward Emily Topping ruined the New Paltz shutout with a goal in the 62
nd minute… Dempsey provided the assist… Wageman was forced to make two saves for New Paltz… Mercer recorded five saves for Geneseo… Senior goalkeeper Heidi Deppmeyer filled in the second half and made three stops… Ackerman and McKeveny both led the offense with four shots apiece… New Paltz outshot the Knights 12-4.
Recap I
Box Score
WHAT'S NEXT: The winner of the game will earn the SUNYAC's automatic bid into the 2014 NCAA Division III Field Hockey Tournament with the bracket selection taking place on Sunday, Nov. 9 and first round games being held on Wednesday, Nov. 12. The National Championships will take place Nov. 22-23 at Lexington, Va., hosted by Washington & Lee University.
