The State University of New York at New Paltz women's lacrosse team is looking to put an end to its current four-game losing streak Saturday, when it's back on the road to take on Buffalo State (6-6 overall, 2-1 SUNYAC).

The Hawks (4-6, 0-4) are coming off two disappointing losses against No. 12 SUNY Geneseo and Oswego State, losing to the latter on the North Turf Field Tuesday, 14-5.

"We definitely feel like Buff State is a team we can get a conference win against," said SUNY New Paltz freshman midfielder Keydy Espinoza. "We played a close game to them last year, so I think we've been working on our offense a lot, which really set us back in Oswego."

Despite never leading in the game against the Lakers, the Hawks managed to cut the deficit down to two after a competitive first-half of play. But it was a completely different game in the second half, as Oswego State rattled off eight-straight goals to propel the eventual nine-goal victory.

A big factor in the loss for SUNY New Paltz was the battle in the circle, as the Lakers won all but five draw controls on the day. The Hawks will need to be successful on the draw against the Bengals, who have won possession exactly 50 percent of the time this season.

On the defensive end, SUNY New Paltz has played well during its rough four-game stretch. Nicole Sheintul has accumulated 49 saves in that span, including 18 against the Knights, which tied for sixth-most in program history. As a team, the Hawks averages about 10 caused turnovers a game and have allowed about 12 goals against this season.

Buffalo State is coming off a 20-4 loss to SUNY Geneseo Tuesday, suffering just its third loss on its home field in 2018. Its two conference victories have come on Coyer Field, defeating Fredonia State handily, 23-9, and SUNY Potsdam, 10-4.

"Going into Buff State, something that we've been working on a lot is our offense. We want to make sure we get our spacing right, so we're giving our dodgers a lane to dodge, so that our cuts are open," Espinoza said. "From the film we've watched from Buff State we know that they're going to be a pretty spread defense, so if we just give our offense enough space, we'll be able to take the lanes and take them one-on-one."

Senior attacker Christina Krowel is the Bengals leading scorer, tallying 40 goals in 12 games. Senior attacker Ally Ruggieri and junior attacker Morgan Hogue lead the team in assists, totaling 14 and 17 in 12 and 11 games, respectively.

Buffalo State has averaged about 13 goals per game, scoring a season-high 23 against Blue Devils. Defensively, the Bengals allow about 11 goals against with Elyse Stark playing all 720 minutes in net. Stark has tallied 95 saves in 12 starts with a .419 save percentage. 

SUNY New Paltz is set to take on the Bengals Saturday at Coyer Field for a 1 p.m. game. Be sure to follow @nphawks on Twitter and @newpaltzhawks on Instagram and Facebook for updates, highlights, videos, photos and more.