After getting a pair of early season games canceled, the State University of New York at New Paltz women's lacrosse team, riding a perfect 2-0 record on the year, is anxious to get back on the field Friday to keep its winning streak alive against visiting Marywood University.

"It's always nice to play on our home turf in front of our friends and family," said Hawks freshman midfielder Keydy Espinoza, "So we're very excited to play, especially because we had two games canceled so far." 

SUNY New Paltz has only gotten two games in since it kicked off the season March 3 due to weather, but have played well in its two victories over Elmira College and Hartwick College, scoring a combined 37 goals, while allowing 20 goals against on just 36 shot attempts.

Offensively, the Hawks have capitalized on most of their opportunities in the eight and have seen great production from their young stars in freshmen Tara Bovich and Amy Hofer, who have combined for 23 of 44 of the team's points so far. Junior midfielder Rachael Purtell has also stayed aggressive on attack, totaling four goals and two assists in two games, while Espinoza (three goals) and senior attacker Kayla Massena (two goals, one assist) follow offensively with three points apiece.

"The key with our offense this year is that we have multiple people who can score and not just from one spot," Espinoza said. "We have people that can drive from all over the eight, so that's what I think has been key to putting up big numbers in games. And you know, coach has us working on our shooting and spacing throughout the offense, so that is what I think has given us success so far offensively."

SUNY New Paltz has been stingy on the defensive side, allowing just 18 shots on goal per game and causing 21 turnovers a contest, but it hopes to better those numbers against the Pacers Friday. 

"Defensively, we need to keep our communication up," said Hawks defender Sarah Raynock. "We need to keep our head on a swivel and know where the ball is at all times."

Marywood University heads into the game at 2-3 overall, with its two wins coming against Alvernia University, 19-4, and Arcadia University, 10-9 in overtime. However, the Pacers have lost their last two outings, including their most recent on March 14 versus Shenandoah University.

In its first five games, Marywood University has averaged about 12 goals per game, while shooting just 40 percent overall and 41.5 percent on free position opportunities on 41 attempts.

Senior attacker Sam Bussinelli leads the Pacers offensively, totaling 19 goals and eight assists thus far for a team-high 27 points with a shooting percentage of 47.5. Sophomore midfielder Gwyneth Gleason and senior midfielder Caitlin Watson follow offensively, totaling 13 and 10 points, respectively.

"Offensively, we know they like to use [isolations], which means there is only one girl up top and her help is very far, so we're definitely working on our slides and communication on our second slides," Raynock said. "We know there are some girls on the team that like to drive and score and some girls that just likes to be in the stack, so we have looked at their numbers and we know what girls are doing what."

Mary Leahy has gotten the majority of the playing time in goal for Marywood University, recording 28 saves, allowing 11.4 goals against with a save percentage of .371 in three starts. As a team, the Pacers are letting up more than 11 goals on 21 shots per game, with opponents shooting nearly 85 percent overall, and 64 percent on free positions attempts.

"We watched some film on them and we know they play a backer-zone defense, which is what our defense plays. So, we go up against backer-zone defense every day in practice," Espizona said. "Their zone is a little bit different than ours, but essentially it is the same thing. It's just a zone defense."

The Hawks are set to play Marywood University Friday on the North Turf Field at 3:30 p.m. Be sure to follow @nphawks on Twitter and @newpaltzhawks on Instagram and Facebook for updates, highlights, videos, photos and more.