Box Score

OSWEGO, N.Y. – Senior back Jessica Caruana (Holbrook, N.Y./Sachem East) finished with two goals and an assist and freshman forward Rachel McLaughlin (Cazenovia, N.Y./Cazenovia) scored twice to lift the No. 17 State University of New York at New Paltz field hockey team to a 5-1 victory over SUNY Oswego in its State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) opener on Friday at the Laker Turf Stadium.
 
The Hawks scored three times in the first 14:36 of the game to set the tone and mount a lead that was ultimately insurmountable for Oswego. New Paltz finished with a 27-6 edge in shots and a 21-6 margin in penalty corners.
 
New Paltz rises to 7-1 overall (1-0 SUNYAC) with the win and faces a tough test tomorrow afternoon when it visits SUNY Cortland for a 1 p.m. contest. Oswego drops to 1-5 overall (1-1 SUNYAC) with the loss and entertains SUNY Oneonta tomorrow at 3 p.m.
 
In their first game as a nationally-ranked team, the Hawks got on the board early, as Caruana cashed in on a deflected shot attempt in the eighth minute. Just more than three minutes later, sophomore midfielder Hayley Kim (West Hurley, N.Y./Onteora) found the stick of junior forward Kayla McKeveny (Holbrook, N.Y./Sachem East), who scored to give New Paltz a 2-0 advantage. McLaughlin spelled out the first-half scoring in the 15th minute, as she beat Oswego's goalkeeper with two juke moves before depositing the ball into the back of the cage.
 
Caruana upped the Hawk advantage to four in the 52nd minute, as she blasted a Kim feed into the goal from the top of the circle on a penalty corner. Oswego answered less than a minute later to erase the shutout bid, however, as senior midfielder Emily Lange scored off a deflection by sophomore Monica Harvey.
 
Caruana nearly scored her third goal of the game in the 68th minute, but Oswego senior goalkeeper Grace Lombardi denied Caruana on a penalty-stroke opportunity. Shortly after that scoring chance, McLaughlin netted her second goal of the contest in the final minute, using a pass from Caruana to score.
 
Senior goalkeeper Alayna Wageman (Getzville, N.Y./Williamsville North) turned aside three shots in the win, while Lombardi made nine stops in the loss. Junior back Corinne Kimmelman made a defensive save for Oswego as well.