After defeating No. 2 seed SUNY Oneonta in the SUNYAC Tournament semifinals by a score of 2-1, the No. 3 seed State University of New York at New Paltz field hockey team looks for a second-consecutive upset when it travels to No. 1 seed SUNY Cortland for the championship game Saturday.
"Coming off a win like that builds confidence and momentum in the right direction," said Hawks coach Shanna Szablinski. "The girls had a great game and when you get to this point of the season, it's critical that you play to the best of your abilities for a full 70 minutes."
In their regular season matchup this season back on Oct. 21, the Red Dragons were victorious by a score of 5-0. Juniors Jessica Welsh and Jess Gibaldi each recorded two goals and Gibaldi also tallied an assist. Senior Megan O'Brien registered SUNY Cortland's fifth goal, while senior Anna Branch notched two assists. Junior Kailynne Reinoehl made 10 stops in the cage to preserve the shutout.
The Hawks will look for a much different outcome in Cortland this time around.
"The girls realize that no matter what happens in the regular season, playoffs give you a clean slate," Szablinski said.
SUNY New Paltz has never beaten the Red Dragons in the regular season, but have had success against them in the playoffs.
The Hawks missed the final round last season, but appeared in it in 2015 and defeated SUNY Cortland 4-1 to win their fourth-straight SUNYAC title.
These two teams have met in two other championship games in 2012 and 2013, with SUNY New Paltz coming out on top in double overtime shootouts both years. The Hawks and Red Dragons also faced off in the semifinal round in 2010, which SUNY Cortland won in overtime.
"Our semifinal game helped us see that our record or past losses don't matter because we know that we are capable of playing at a very high level and we can upset teams like Oneonta and Cortland," senior Hayley Kim said. "We are extremely excited about the opportunity to play Cortland again, and we know that if we play together we can come out on top."
New Paltz (7-11, 4-2 SUNYAC)
The Hawks have scored the fourth-most goals in the conference with 47, and have allowed 51 goals this season.
Senior Justine O'Reilly leads the SUNYAC with 18 goals and 45 points, and she is ranked second in assists with nine. Junior Serena Capsello has nine goals and two assists, while freshman Carly Croteau has seven goals and one assist. Kim is tied for third in the conference with eight assist, while junior Samantha Ackerman has six goals, one assist and leads the SUNYAC with six defensive saves. Senior Megan Gangewere is second in the conference with 208 saves and has the third-highest save percentage with a .803 mark.
SUNY New Paltz defeated SUNY Oneonta on the road in the semifinals on Nov. 1 by a score of 2-1 to reach the championship game. O'Reilly scored the game's first goal, and after the Red Dragons tied the match Croteau gave the Hawks a lead they would not surrender in the 59th minute. Gangewere held down the defense with seven saves.
"Our mindset is what will lead us to success against Cortland," Ackerman said. "The team that shows up, believes in themselves, their teammates and gives it their all with absolutely walk away with the win."
Cortland (16-3, 5-1 SUNYAC)
The Red Dragons lead the conference with 70 goals have allowed the fewest goals with just 18.
Gibaldi leads the team and is third in the SUNYAC with 15 goals. Welsh and sophomore Hannah Burchell are right behind her with 13 and 12 goals, respectively. Branch is ranked first in the conference with 12 assists, and senior Meg Redmond is tied for second in defensive saves with five. Reinoehl's 0.77 goals against average is the lowest in the SUNYAC, while her .878 save percentage is the highest.
SUNY Cortland avenged their regular season loss to SUNY Geneseo by defeating them 3-0 in the semifinal round. O'Brien, senior Liz Athing and junior Dani Barto notched the team's three goals, while Branch and junior Shannon McGuinness recorded one assist each. Reinoehl notched three saves in the shutout.
"Cortland is a great team," Szablinski said. "They're fast, they're dynamic and their transition is quick. They have some key players that are really good at controlling the center of the field, and we'll have to keep an eye out on them."
