It is a new season for the State University of New York at New Paltz women's soccer team as it enters the opening weekend of SUNYAC play at home against SUNY Oswego and SUNY Cortland.

The Hawks lost both outings against the Lakers and Red Dragons last season to a combined score of 6-1, but last year's SUNY New Paltz team is different than 2017. The Hawks have worked hard through the preseason and their first eight games to earn a 4-4 record heading into the match up.

"Heading into SUNYAC's this year it's completely different," said SUNY New Paltz senior defender Friedman. "We're looking to switch the point of attack through our midfield and looking to come off really strong with that. We're excited to use that [in conference play]."

The Hawks had a dominating home opening weekend against John Jay and Manhattanville College on Sept. 15 and 16. They found the back of the net 11 times and picked up their third shutout of the season. In fact, SUNY New Paltz has yet let up a goal on their home turf as they head into their games against the Lakers and Red Dragons undefeated at home.

"We're excited. We've worked so hard in our non-conference games and we're ready to start fresh," Friedman said. "Every time we play Cortland and Oswego they're good battles. They are both solid teams, but we've always played well against both of them so we're excited."

But the Hawks are looking to bounce back from a tough loss against Vassar College on Sept. 19. They played a strong first half as they headed into the break knotted at zero, but let up defensively in the second half and conceded six goals.

"Vassar was a tough game," said Friedman. "We battled in the first half and we were strong doing that, but we are looking to stay really compact in our back and not let them split us at all."

Alexa Restante has led SUNY Oswego (3-1-1) offensively with five points, while Emma Geyer, Gabby Corrente and Mackenzie Schaffner have also registered two goals for the Lakers, who have out-scored the opposition 11-3 thus far.

Brenna Conover leads SUNY Cortland (3-0-3) with four goals this season. The Red Dragons have struggled offensively, totaling just nine goals thus far and averaging about a goal per game. Defensively they have been sound, allowing just two against and averaging 0.33 per game.

SUNY New Paltz is set to face the Lakers Friday at 3 p.m. and will take on SUNY Cortland Saturday at 1 p.m. Follow @nphawks on Twitter for live updates and highlights.