It's a big weekend for the State University of New York at New Paltz men's soccer team. The Hawks (4-7 overall, 0-4 SUNYAC) are hosting SUNY Potsdam and Plattsburgh State, two teams that had earned points against them last year, in crucial conference match ups that could determine their playoff fate.

On top of its two contests, SUNY New Paltz will host its annual Heiz Ahlmeyer Jr. Game, which supports veteran student Hawks, and also honor its six seniors – Andres Salcedo, Ben Zilka, Aleco Podias, Nick Comiskey, Joe Mausler, and Matt Carr – prior to the game.

"When we get there it will be a pretty nice day for them," said Hawks coach Kyle Clancy. "It's not a class I recruited, but it is a class that has done a good job in buying into what we're trying to do. In a little bit of the culture change, and what we're trying to develop here, which is to be a consistently winning program. They've done a really good job of that. There are some really good players, guys that we'll definitely miss."

However, amidst the excitement SUNY New Paltz is making sure not to look too far ahead, knowing how important each SUNYAC matchup is from here on out.
"I think that their focus right now is Friday, and especially in the position we are in right now every game is extremely important," said Clancy, whose team is looking to end a four-game skid. "We need to pick up some wins and pick up some points, and focus on each game. I am pretty certain that they know and they feel that everything right now is focused on Potsdam and not looking ahead to the Senior Day game."

When asked about the Bears and Cardinals, Clancy just simply said, "They're good."

SUNY Potsdam and Plattsburgh State each rallied from deficits to tie the Hawks, 2-2 and 1-1, respectively, last season.

"Every game is tough," Clancy said. "They're both usually pretty athletic teams. Plattsburgh is probably the hotter of the two coming into the weekend, but Potsdam is always tough. They both gave us good match ups last year, teams that don't quit. We gave up two leads last year against both of them, so we know we need to play a full 90 minutes and just make sure we're matching their intensity."

The Bears (5-5 overall, 1-2 SUNYAC) started the year strong, but had lost four straight before defeating visiting Oswego State in their latest match up on Sept. 30.
Potsdam has played well defensively, allowing just more than a goal per game, but has struggled finding the back of the net. The Bears went scoreless during their four-game losing streak until netting three in their win over the Lakers.

They are led by Theodore Bruschini up top, who has totaled four goals and an assist thus far. In net, Jakeb Mitchell (seven starts) and Keagen Briggs (two starts) have accumulated 30 saves with a .652 cumulative save percentage.

Plattsburgh State (8-3 overall, 2-1 SUNYAC) saw its five game winning streak come to an end at home against No. 8 SUNY Cortland on Sept. 30 after a 2-0 defeat.
The Cardinals were arguably the hottest team in the league heading into their match up with the first-place Red Dragons. Prior to the game they were averaging nearly three goals a contest, while totaling five shut outs in that stretch.

They are led by Chris Robertson and Kyle Pfaff, who have recorded a team-high 12, and 11 points, respectively. Patrick Feeley has started 10 games in net for Plattsburgh State and saved 66.7 percent of shots against and registered 24 saves thus far.

Both teams are ahead of the Hawks in the conference standings and points against each opponent is critical. But for Clancy and his group, it's more about improving than just getting a win.

"It is more just keeping focus on the process and trying to get better in the areas that we're improving," Clancy said. "We can't just look at the games and say, "We need to get the W." We need to figure out the areas that we're struggling in and how to improve, which we've done. Hopefully that will put us in the best position to get a win."
 
The Hawks are set to take on the Bears on the South Turf Field Friday at 3 p.m. and then host the Cardinals Saturday at 1 p.m. There is a $5 admission to the public and $3 admission for SUNY New Paltz students on Saturday, with proceeds going to support SUNY New Paltz veteran students. 

Donations can be made at newpaltz.edu/gift/vetservices.

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