Box Score

POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. – The State University of New York at New Paltz field hockey team was unable to hold on to a 1-0 halftime lead against Vassar College in its regular-season finale on Saturday at Weinberg Field, as the Brewers scored twice midway through the second half to pull out a 2-1 victory over the Hawks in non-conference action.
 
Vassar finished with the upper hand in several statistical categories, holding a 20-9 advantage in shots and a 10-5 edge in penalty corners. The Brewers also had two different defenders make defensive saves in the contest.
 
New Paltz drops to 13-5 overall and now turns its attention to the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) Tournament. The Hawks hold the No. 2 seed and host third-seeded SUNY Geneseo on Wednesday, Nov. 4, at 2 p.m. in the semifinal round. Vassar rises to 12-5 with the win and next visits William Smith College for the semifinal round of the Liberty League Tournament on Wednesday at 7 p.m.
 
Sophomore forward Justine O'Reilly (West Sayville, N.Y./Sayville) scored on just the second shot the Hawks took all day in the 29th minute, as she deflected the ball off a Vassar defender into the lower right-hand corner of the cage. That opened up an uptick in momentum for the visitors to close out the first half, as New Paltz took three more shots before the end of the period.
 
New Paltz drew two penalty corners to start the second half, but Vassar wound up wresting the momentum, with sophomore forward Storm Sideleau burying the equalizer off a pass from freshman midfielder/forward Monica Feeley in the 46th minute. Junior midfielder/back Lauren Shumate scored the go-ahead goal for Vassar just 5:28 later, and the Hawks were unable to cash in down the stretch, as the Brewers escaped with the 2-1 victory.
 
Senior goalkeeper Alayna Wageman (Getzville, N.Y./Williamsville North) made 11 saves in the loss for the Hawks, while freshman goalkeeper Paige Amico turned aside two shots in the win for the Brewers.