New Paltz, NY – The State University of New York at New Paltz field hockey team had a dominating third quarter against visiting SUNY Oneonta (8-9 overall, 3-3 SUNYAC) Wednesday, establishing a three-goal cushion to eventually help clinch a 4-2 victory on the North Turf Field.

With the win, the Hawks (10-6, 4-2) earn the No. 3 seed in the conference tournament, setting up a re-match against No. 2 SUNY Cortland, which had recently defeated SUNY New Paltz, 3-2, in overtime. The matchup marks the third-straight year the programs will see each other in the postseason.

"We're excited about having another chance at being able to play better against a team that we lost to this season," said Hawks coach Shanna Szablinski following Wednesay's win. "This is typical for us to be playing against Cortland. It is kind of part of the thrill as well, so it is a good opportunity for us." 
After losing three of their last four games, including two-straight in the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC), SUNY New Paltz was happy to pick up the victory over the Red Dragons, who dropped to the No. 4 seed in the playoffs and will see top-seeded SUNY Geneseo in the semifinal round. For the Hawks, they gain some confidence heading into their final regular season game Saturday against Ithaca College before entering the postseason.

"We are all really excited for our last game this season and we just really want to end on a win and go into playoffs with keeping our momentum forward and keeping the wins going," said SUNY New Paltz sophomore midfielder Jessica Ascencao who led her team with two goals Wednesday. "We're really excited to have another opportunity to play Cortland. There's such a big rivalry between us. We feel like we can come out into that game with a lot of energy and really capitalize."

The Hawks capitalized early against Oneonta after a dominating first quarter that saw SUNY New Paltz out-shoot the opposition, 8-0, while putting six attempts on target. Jamie Wagner nearly put the Hawks on the board in the opening minute after they garnered a corner 15 seconds into the game. However, Wagner's goal was disallowed, keeping the game scoreless until five minutes left in the period.

Natasia Plunkett instigated the opening score for SUNY New Paltz, earning a corner for her team. Jamie Wagner played the ensuing corner to Ascencao at the top of the circle, who took a touch and ripped a shot through traffic into the back of the net for the game's first goal.

However, despite holding the advantage in possession and attempts on cage, the Hawks held just a slight 1-0 lead going into the second quarter.

Oneonta recorded its first corner of the outing two minutes into the second period, but finally registered its first shot with about four minutes left until halftime. Neither team's defenses wavered in the period, however, even with the Red Dragons firing five shots in the final minutes of the half.

Oneonta didn't take long to capitalize, though entering the third. Chloe Lynch officially tied up the score at one in the 34th-minute for the Red Dragons, but the Hawks made sure to re-gain control. Three minutes later, Wagner scored her team-leading 11th goal of the season, thanks to an assist by Shannon Bernhardt to put SUNY New Paltz back in front. The goal ignited the Hawks' offense, who proceeded to rattle off two more goals to establish a 4-1 cushion heading into the fourth.

"I think we just did a better job of spreading out in our attacking 50, and we were able to utilize that space and be able to attack the opening lanes," Szablinski said of her team's explosive third quarter. "That made a huge difference, rather than going into congestion we were opening up the field a lot better, so that helped us a lot."

Less than two minutes after Wagner's goal, SUNY New Paltz earned back-to-back-to-back corners, and finally on the third try, the hosts capitalized. Identical to the opening goal, Wagner played the ball into Ascencao, who initially had a bad touch on the pass, but gathered control and launched a shot into the net for her second of the day. As soon as the re-start whistle blew, Carly Croteau got in on the action as well for the Hawks, putting away a pass from Courtney Kruzikas on a fast break to pad the lead to three.

"In the third quarter we really came alive more offensively because we really worked on transitioning the ball and opening up the field as we moved down," Ascencao said. "We have been struggling a little bit finishing on our corners, but I think today was a big step for us in reading the defense and putting the ball in the right places to put the ball in the back of the net."

Oneonta didn't let up despite the three-goal hole and quickly trimmed the deficit to two in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter. However, SUNY New Paltz didn't let the Red Dragons' goal shift momentum and they held strong in maintaining the advantage to ultimately close out with the win.

"We fought hard, we kept constant pressure on the ball and that composure piece was really important," Szablinski said. "Obviously, there were some errors we made on the defensive end, but we were able to just pull through."

The Hawks finished with 26 shots, 17 on goal, to just nine for the Red Dragons (eight on target). SUNY New Paltz also held the advantage in corners, 12-3, while Hawks goalie Mackenzie Mortimer totaled six saves with Oneonta's Kristy Campana registering 13 stops.

Ascencao led the way with her two goals on a game-high seven shots, followed by Wagner, who recorded two assists and a goal on four shots. The duo sit sixth and fifth, respectively, in the SUNYAC with 27 and 29 points on the year.

The Hawks have one more regular season game left on the schedule, which is set for Saturday at 1 p.m. on the North Turf Field against the Bombers. The team will honor their four graduating seniors: Rachel Beam, Kaitlyn Gunter, Sarah Swift and Sophia Urrutia prior to the game.

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