Box Score

NEWBURGH, N.Y. – The State University of New York at New Paltz women's lacrosse team battled back and forth with non-conference Mount Saint Mary College on Wednesday evening at Kaplan Field, but the Knights scored two unanswered goals to end the game in a 12-11 victory over the Hawks.
 
New Paltz played well in transition, finishing 13-for-18 in clear attempts. Mount Saint Mary held a 32-21 edge in shots and a 14-11 margin in draw controls in addition to going 11-for-15 on clears throughout the contest.
 
New Paltz drops to 0-2 overall with the loss and hosts Penn State Abington tomorrow afternoon in its 2016 home opener at 4 p.m. at the North Turf Field. Mount Saint Mary rises to 2-1 with the win and next visits Western Connecticut State University on Thursday, March 17, at 7 p.m.
 
The Hawks poured on the offense early, as sophomore attacker/midfielder Colleen Jones (Ardsley, N.Y./Hackley School) scored just 1:26 into the contest before freshman midfielder Rachael Purtell (Minetto, N.Y./Oswego) netted back-to-back goals to hand New Paltz an early 3-0 lead. Both defenses clamped down, as nearly seven minutes elapsed between goals before senior midfielder Kathleen McGinnis put Mount Saint Mary on the board with 17:13 to go in the first half. Junior attacker Katie Gattoni scored for the Knights with 5:47 on the clock to provide the halftime margin of 3-2 in favor of New Paltz.
 
Mount Saint Mary tied the score at 3-all 1:46 into the second half before junior attacker Nicole Stackpole (North Bellmore, N.Y./W.C. Mepham) answered seconds later off a feed from sophomore attacker Caitlyn Morris (Cicero, N.Y./Cicero-North Syracuse). The Knights once again leveled the tally with a Gattoni score 14 seconds later, but three unanswered goals from Jones, sophomore attacker Kelsey Aeberli (Warwick, N.Y./Warwick Valley) and junior midfielder Nicole Gottschalk (Glastonbury, Conn./Glastonbury) staked the Hawks to a 7-4 advantage.
 
Following a Gatoni goal, Gottschalk and Aeberli both scored to give New Paltz its largest lead of the night at 9-5. Mount Saint Mary began to push the tempo, scoring four goals in a seven-minute span to erase the deficit, but Purtell buried her third goal of the evening to give New Paltz a 10-9 cushion. Senior attacker Shannon McGuinness scored less than a minute later to knot the tally at 10-all, but Aeberli put the Hawks in front by a goal with a tally just 3:49 before the final buzzer.
 
McGuinness scored on a woman-advantage opportunity with 1:30 left in regulation to tie the score at 11-all, and the Knights won the draw following the goal with the chance to go ahead. Gattoni buried the game-winner with 33 seconds remaining, and the Knights won the next draw to seal the win.
 
Purtell and Aeberli each scored three goals to pace the Hawk offense, with Jones and Gottschalk adding two goals apiece. Stackpole also scored in the win for New Paltz and dished out two assists. Junior midfielder Alexa Criollo (Queens, N.Y./Forest Hills) handed out two assists coming off the bench, while Purtell and Morris each provided an assist. Defensively, junior defender Nicole Petrullo (East Meadow, N.Y./East Meadow) caused three turnovers.
 
Gatoni and McGuinness were the difference for Mount Saint Mary, scoring five and four goals, respectively. Senior defender Claire Duffy and sophomore midfielder Christina Ryan dished out three and two assists, respectively, while McGuinness controlled four draws.
 
Junior goalkeeper Colleen Roemer (Pound Ridge, N.Y./Fox Lane) stood tall in the loss for New Paltz, making 13 saves while scooping up four ground balls. Freshman goalkeeper Amanda Picillo turned aside six stops in the win for Mount Saint Mary.