Box Score

WHITTIER, Calif. – The State University of New York at New Paltz women's lacrosse team jumped out to an 8-1 halftime lead and held off a strong second-half rally by Whittier College to win its first game of the 2015 season, 12-9, on Friday afternoon in non-conference action at Memorial Stadium.
 
Despite the close final score, the Hawks dominated the stat sheet, finishing with a 36-21 edge in shots while going 12-for-13 on clear attempts. Meanwhile, New Paltz's defense limited Whittier to 13 successful clears on 22 tries. Both teams controlled 11 draws.
 
New Paltz finishes out its season-opening Southern California trip at 1-3 overall and contests the University of Scranton in its home opener on Wednesday, March 25, at 4 p.m. at the Old Turf Field. Whittier drops to 2-8 with the loss and hosts Pomona-Pitzer Colleges next on Saturday, April 4, at 11 a.m. (PDT).
 
The Hawks established the momentum early on, as sophomore attacker Nicole Stackpole (North Bellmore, N.Y./W.C. Mepham) and senior attacker Kelsey Healy (Central Islip, N.Y./Bay Shore) combined to score the first five goals of the contest. Whittier's senior defender Meesha Robinson put the Poets on the board with 14:00 to go in the first half before Healy, sophomore attacker Melissa Wagner (Putnam Valley, N.Y./Putnam Valley) and junior midfielder Alexa Vitale (New Windsor, N.Y./Cornwall Central) each scored before the end of the period to put the Hawks on top, 8-1, heading into the intermission.
 
The two teams traded goals to start the second half, with a score by senior midfielder Lianne Valdivia (Kingston, N.Y./Kingston) giving New Paltz an 11-3 cushion with 19:55 to go in regulation. The Poets, however, counted with a five-goal spurt, and back-to-back markers by Robinson drew the home team within three. Wagner scored unassisted just more than two minutes later to push the Hawk edge back out to four, and despite one more Whittier goal, New Paltz was able to hold on for the win.
 
Healy and Stackpole keyed the Hawk attack with four and three goals, respectively, while Wagner scored twice. Vitale, senior midfielder Carissa Citro (Miller Place, N.Y./Miller Place) and Valdivia also found the back of the net during the contest. Freshman attacker Caitlyn Morris (Cicero, N.Y./Cicero-North Syracuse) helped fuel the offense with three assists, while Valdivia aided on defense with four ground balls and three caused turnovers.
 
For Whittier, Robinson scored four goals, while freshman midfielder Angelina Cuevas and senior attacker Tiffany Reyes netted two apiece. Robinson scooped up six ground balls, while junior attacker Rachel Lansner controlled four draws.
 
Senior goalkeeper Jackie Ulanoff (Northport, N.Y./Northport) earned the win in goal, making four stops, while her counterpart, senior goalkeeper Nicole Yorba, stood tall during the game with 17 saves.