The State University of New York at New Paltz is again faced with a pivotal weekend, hosting SUNY Geneseo and The College at Brockport Oct. 18 and Oct. 19, respectively.
 
The Hawks (8-5 overall, 2-3 SUNYAC) split their last road weekend of the season Oct. 11 and 12 after defeating SUNY Cortland, 1-0, but falling to Oswego State, 2-1 the following day. SUNY New Paltz played well in possession, but had trouble finishing in the final third against the Lakers to sweep the weekend. As a result, they head into their matchup against the Knights and Golden Eagles with six points in the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC), ranked sixth in the conference standings.
 
"It is very important to get six points this weekend," said SUNY New Paltz sophomore defender Jonathan Tola. "Even though they might not be the highest on the standings, we don't look past any teams. We're not looking at the standings right now and we're just taking it game by game, because we know every game in the SUNYAC is a tough one." 
 
Both Geneseo and Brockport have both struggled in SUNYAC play, landing toward the bottom of the conference standings through six games. The Hawks fell to both programs in 2018, including twice against the reigning champion Golden Eagles, who knocked SUNY New Paltz out of the SUNYAC Tournament last season on its home turf.
 
"I am very excited to be back at home to give our fans a good showing. We've got good games coming up this weekend and we just got to get six points," Tola said. "We're definitely very motivated and I am glad it's back on our turf, so we can show them a good game and get some revenge."
 
The Golden Eagles haven't won a game in their last four contests, with their most recent victory coming against SUNY Potsdam, Oct. 4. The Bears are the only team the Hawks have beaten in conference play, as the defending champs have lost to Buffalo State, 2-0, Plattsburgh State, 1-0, Oswego State, 1-0 and SUNY Cortland, 4-1, while earning a 1-1 tie with Fredonia State.
 
Sophomore forward Matthew Stefaniew leads Brockport with seven goals and five assists in 14 games played. Sophomore midfielder Zach Langeloti follows with five goals, while senior forward Jeff Hibbard and senior midfielder Jason Hayes each have four apiece.
  Joseph Romano has started the last three goals for the Golden Eagles, compiling a 2-2-2 record with 11 saves and a .786 save percentage. Tautis Poniskaitis has earned 11 starts for Brockport in net, registering 32 saves on 90 shots faced for a .696 save percentage with a 4-5-1 record.
 
Similar to Brockport, Geneseo has come away with just a win and a tie in conference play against the Bears and Blue Devils, respectively. The Knights have gotten shutout in their last two games and lost their most recent outing, 2-0 against Buffalo State before earning a scoreless tie with Fredonia.
 
Freshman forward Eren Aydin and sophomore forward James Perrone lead Geneseo offensively with three goals apiece. As a team, the Knights average less than a goal per game, while allowing 1.32 goals against. Freshman Will Price has played the majority of time in goal, totaling 38 saves, while yielding 18 against to own a .679 save percentage.

For the Hawks, sophomore James Maltes leads the team with seven goals, followed by junior midfielder Kevin Doorley who has totaled 14 points on three goals and a team-leading eight assists on the year. Marc DePasquale has played well in net for SUNY New Paltz, recording five clean sheets with 53 saves and a .828 save percentage. 
 
SUNY New Paltz is set to play SUNY Geneseo Friday on the South Turf Field at 3 p.m. and then will host Brockport Saturday at 1 p.m.

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