Box Score NEW PALTZ, N.Y. – For the third year in a row, the State University of New York at New Paltz field hockey team won the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) title, as the Hawks downed SUNY Geneseo, 4-0, in the championship game of the SUNYAC Tournament on Saturday at the Old Turf Field.
By virtue of winning the conference title, the third-seeded Hawks earned the SUNYAC's automatic bid into the NCAA Division III Tournament. New Paltz, which rises to 14-6 overall, will learn of its first-round opponent when the full bracket is released late Sunday night. Geneseo, the No. 4 seed, ends its season at 9-12.
Junior goalkeeper
Alayna Wageman (Getzville, N.Y./Williamsville North) was named the Tournament MVP, while senior midfielder
Deirdre O'Neill (New City, N.Y./Clarkstown South), junior forward/midfielder
Dani Ackerman (Nesconset, N.Y./Smithtown East), junior back
Jessica Caruana (Holbrook, N.Y./Sachem East) and sophomore forward
Kayla McKeveny (Holbrook, N.Y./Sachem East) joined her on the All-Tournament Team. The rest of the All-Tournament Team included junior goalkeeper Dayna Mercer, senior defender Ashley Favata and junior midfielder Elena Hingston from Geneseo; senior back Erica Wharton and senior forward Emily Woods from SUNY Cortland and junior midfielder/forward Holly VanDresar and sophomore forward Bailee Barrett from SUNY Oneonta.
The result never felt in doubt, as the Hawks got on the board in the third and 12th minutes, respectively, before staving off a few Geneseo scoring opportunities toward the end of the first half to gain significant momentum heading into the intermission. New Paltz ended up tacking on two insurance scores to spell the final score.
Caruana kicked off scoring in the third minute, rattling the back of the cage off a shot from the top right-hand side of the circle. Less than 10 minutes later, O'Neill made it a two-goal game, scoring off of her own rebound. Geneseo saw numerous scoring opportunities down the stretch in the first half, unleashing seven shots and drawing four penalty corners. New Paltz was able to clamp down, however, to keep a clean sheet through 35 minutes of play.
Ackerman stretched the Hawk lead to three in the 53rd minute, as O'Neill and Caruana used tic-tac-toe passing off a penalty corner to lead to the goal. McKeveny put the game on ice in the 65th minute, scoring off of a rebound in a crowded circle.
Wageman stood tall in the win, making 10 stops to preserve the shutout. Mercer made 10 saves in the loss for Geneseo.
New Paltz finished with a 20-16 edge in shots and a 15-9 cushion in penalty corners.
