The State University of New York at New Paltz women's soccer team expect two wins on its home turf this weekend against State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) rivals The College at Brockport and SUNY Geneseo.
The Hawks (1-9-1 overall, 0-3-1 conference) feel confident coming off two tight matches from the previous weekend. SUNY New Paltz went into double overtime against Oswego State (4-3-2, 1-1-1) Friday, but neither team found an opportunity to score, resulting in a stalemate.
Although frustrated with their first tie of the season, the Hawks were pleased with their aggressive play at the beginning of the game and their ability to sustain that level of intensity until the end, especially when faced with double overtime.
The next day, SUNY New Paltz set off to face SUNY Cortland (6-3-1, 2-1-0). The Hawks defended their box viciously, but allowed the Red Dragons an opportunity in the 76th minute to score the go-ahead goal. SUNY New Paltz desperately attempted to make up the deficit as sophomore forward Monika Morasse attempted one last shot with 19 seconds left on the scoreboard. It was the first game all season where the Hawks out-shot their opponent, 11-9.
"This past weekend I thought we did really well improving in our team play and switching the point of attack, defending together, just working as a unit in general," said junior forward Nicole Sheintul. "I think we were taking the concepts we were using in practice and really applying them to the field, unlike other games where we kind of lost composure and were a little frantic, so I think that will translate well to this weekend."
In the past few weeks SUNY New Paltz has steadily improved its performance, as it has focused on balancing the midfield and strengthening its defense, as well pressing the ball. Communication has been a constant focal point, as well.
"We've been working on attacking sequences, because we obviously need to work on our scoring abilities in order to win games," said junior midfielder Jessica Fox. "And defensively working on our shape, too, so that we can close off the gaps and they're not so exploited by the other teams."
In the 2017 season, SUNY New Paltz tied 1-1 with The College at Brockport (5-6, 2-2) after going into double overtime. Defending SUNYAC champions SUNY Geneseo (7-2-1, 4-0) had defeated the Hawks, 6-1, a day later. SUNY New Paltz looks to elevate both games this season to two home victories.
"Our expectations are really really high," Fox said. "This is going to be our weekend. I feel it the whole team feels it. In practice it's just been really upbeat. We have a really good vibe going, so hopefully we can perform the way that we know that we can and we get a result out of this weekend."
The Hawks will compete on the South Turf against the Golden Eagles Friday at 4 p.m. and the Knights Saturday at 1 p.m.
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