Box Score NEW PALTZ, N.Y. – Two second-half goals helped lift the second-seeded State University of New York at New Paltz field hockey team to a 2-1 win over third-seeded SUNY Geneseo in the semifinal round of the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) Tournament on Wednesday afternoon at the North Turf Field.
With the win, the Hawks rise to 14-5 overall and will play at top-seeded SUNY Cortland in the SUNYAC Tournament final on Saturday, Nov. 7, at 1 p.m. for their chance at a fourth consecutive SUNYAC title. Geneseo ends its season at 10-9.
In what was a rematch of last year's SUNYAC Tournament final, Geneseo applied significant pressure early, taking five shots before sophomore midfielder/forward Diana Ruggiero cashed in on a penalty-corner opportunity in the 33rd minute, receiving feeds from sophomore midfielder Morgan Maley and senior midfielder Elena Hingston. While the Hawks earned two penalty corners in the final moments of the first half, the Knights entered halftime with a 1-0 lead.
New Paltz began to control the offensive flow in the second half, taking shot after shot before junior back
Colleen Roemer (Pound Ridge, N.Y./Fox Lane) finally hit pay dirt for the Hawks in the 54th minute, scoring in traffic for her first goal of the season and her first goal since the 2013 campaign. Following a Geneseo timeout, senior back
Jessica Caruana (Holbrook, N.Y./Sachem East) netted the eventual game-winner off a penalty stroke in the 56th minute.
Geneseo—and senior goalkeeper Dayna Mercer in particular—clamped down defensively down the stretch, with Mercer denying a second New Paltz penalty-stroke chance in the 68th minute. Ruggiero had a chance to net the equalizer for Geneseo in the 68th minute as well, but senior goalkeeper
Alayna Wageman (Getzville, N.Y./Williamsville North) knocked the ball away to keep the margin in favor of the Hawks.
New Paltz finished with a 27-10 advantage in shots and a 13-6 edge in penalty corners.
The Hawks received four saves from Wageman in the winning effort in addition to defensive saves from Roemer and freshman midfielder/back
Maggie Cottrell (Pittsford, N.Y./Pittsford Sutherland). Mercer stood tall in the loss for Geneseo, making 14 stops. Mercer finished her career as one of the best postseason goalkeepers in the history of the SUNYAC, as she made 47 saves in SUNYAC Tournament games across her four years at Geneseo.
