Through the last two games, the State University of New York at New Paltz field hockey team has played nearly 150 minutes worth of action, but has come up short on both occasions. The Hawks (4-3) are looking to overcome their first losing streak of the season, bounce back from both overtime losses and give No. 10 nationally ranked University of Rochester (8-0) its first defeat of the season Sunday.

"I definitely think we can," said SUNY New Paltz freshman goalie Ryan Dowling of knocking off the Yellowjackets.  "Even though we are young, we also have a lot of experience playing, even if it's not at the collegiate level. We know how to play the sport and we know how to play it really well, so most of the freshmen are super excited to get in there and try and play against these new teams."

The Hawks didn't have the best performances against St. John Fisher College and Skidmore College Sept. 15 and 19, respectively, but despite the lackluster outing, still managed to extend the game into extra time, which points to the amount of talent on the field. Although they didn't earn victories, they remain confident if they keep the intensity high, they'll have a positive result Sunday.

"We definitely talked a lot about intensity [after the loss against Skidmore] and how we need to keep our intensity up and have constant pressure throughout the game," Dowling said. "Obviously losing sucks, so we're just kind of using it as motivation to be really hyped up for Sunday. Making sure that we're going out there [and be] the best team we can be, so we can have a really tough game."

What carried SUNY New Paltz in the early part of its season where it won four of five games, was its play on penalty corners. The Hawks tallied eight goals of the set piece in their first five games, but in their last two haven't registered any in 12 attempts. The team recognizes their percentages need to improve as they move forward.

"Offensive corners we practice pretty much every day," Dowling said. "It is great practice for me because I get tons of shots. It's great practice for all of the field players, because they can work on this and make sure they can get it down. Corners are huge opportunities, so we're hoping to capitalize a lot on our corners on Sunday."

Freshman Jessica Ascencao and sophomore Carly Croteau leads the team offensively with seven and six goals, respectively. Dowling has gotten the last four starts in net and has totaled 40 saves with a .784 save percentage.

Jancy Bansbach and Amanda Strenk leads Rochester with 22 and 14 points, respectively, while Kate Kujawa has played the majority of minutes in goal and has recorded 22 saves with a .917 save percentage. As a team, the Yellowjackets are averaging nearly five goals per game and has allowed just two goals against all season. In their undefeated start, they've beaten State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) opponents SUNY Cortland – the defending conference champion – and The College at Brockport to a combined score of, 8-1.

Last season, Rochester defeated SUNY New Paltz, 3-2, in overtime. Senior goalie Megan Gangewere had a historic performance, totaling 26 saves, which ranked fourth all-time in program history, to keep the Hawks in the contest.

Although Dowling might not set a program record Sunday, she is excited for the challenge and confident in herself and her team heading into the match up.

"All the upperclassmen have said that they are a really tough team," she added. "For me, I am just looking at it as a challenge. I just want to play really well and take some great shots, and make sure that I am playing to the best of my ability against a great team like Rochester."

The Hawks are set to take on the Yellowjackets on the campus of Hamilton College in Clinton, NY at 2 p.m. Sunday. To stay up to date with everything #NPHawks be sure to follow on Twitter at @nphawks, Instagram and Facebook at @newpaltzhawks, and subscribe to our Youtube channel, New Paltz Hawks.