After an intense month of training and conditioning, the State University of New York at New Paltz women's lacrosse team is looking forward to making impressive strides throughout the 2019 season, with the main goal of becoming a State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) contender for the first time in program history.
 
"We want to, as a whole unit, earn everything," said Hawks coach Keith Detelj. "That's something that is very important to us. When we go out there and earn everything that we do, that's when the records are going to be broken, that's when we're going to find our way into the playoffs."
 
SUNY New Paltz's main goal is to gain a spot in the playoffs, a feat that has always been just out of reach. The team is determined to change their underdog status this season by pushing one another to standards they never thought possible. Achieving this goal begins in practice, where the Hawks have put a focus on fitness, stamina and endurance. Training has also centered around conditioning, lifting and drill work, such as foot movement and stick skills, as well as increased confidence against aggressive competitors. Detelj has worked on implementing new systems, which allow for increased speed play and a high tempo offense.
 
"Last season our record didn't really show the performance or the achievement that we wish that we got," said Hawks senior offensive midfielder Ashley Seiter. "This year a lot of goals, I think, would be to come out of the games that we should have last year and to really just prove to be the team that we have been trying to be for a while."
 
SUNY New Paltz ended the previous season with a 5-9 overall mark and 1-7 SUNYAC. Its lone conference win came in a 10-6 victory over SUNY Potsdam. The Hawks rode their euphoria into the next game against Fredonia State, playing in their only overtime game of the season, but fell short, 15-16. Despite its disappointment with its overall record last season, SUNY New Paltz still made strides as a program, finishing with five or more wins in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 2012.
 
The current roster of 17 women is modest compared to the typical 25 limit, but allows the Hawks to create closer connections that is reflected by efficient circulation on the field. Working as one unit, they understand the necessity of working together. SUNY New Paltz graduated three seniors from the previous season, but welcome five newcomers to fill their place. Midfielder Madeleine Carullo, attacker Kathleen Zito, goalkeeper Haley Timarky and defenders Alexandria Galvez and Viviana Scotti join the team, all of whom have settled in and made the team stronger.
  Attackers Tara Bovich and Amy Hofer return for their second season after leading in points scored from the previous year, scoring 37 and 36, respectively. They each tied a single-game program record of eight goals in a match. Defensive midfield Jahna Beiling returns for her junior season after enjoying 20 ground balls and 13 caused turnovers. Seniors Seiter, Taylor Russell, Sarah Raynock and Rachael Purtell look forward to ending their careers on a high note after seeing the progress of the program and having contributed 19 goals, 6 assists, 103 recovered ground balls and 50 forced turnovers between the four of them during the previous season.

"I know that they are just a special group in the way that they are around each other and the way they push each other," Detelj said. "I think that makes them special in their own right and I think they all create a different type of value and they're all creative in their own way, so I think that makes us unique that other teams aren't going to be able to hone in on one or two players because of that ability to be creative in your own sort of way."
 
The Hawks head to their first game of the 2019 season against Union College. The two teams have not faced one another, but the game is expected to be closely matched. The Dutchmen finished last season at 3-11 overall. Union College and SUNY New Paltz shared only one competitor in the previous season, SUNY Cortland, who defeated both teams with similar scores of 5-16 and 5-15, respectively.
 
"Our attitude for this first game going in is just to come out strong and to really show what we've been working on," said Raynock. "We want to keep our attitude positive throughout the whole game. Even if we have some setbacks we're just going to bounce back and move forward."
 
The rest of the season is packed with 15 games between Friday and the end of April. Nine of which are against fellow SUNYAC contenders, whom the Hawks are eager to face and show off their improvements from a season ago.
 
"Continuing to believe that the standard can be pushed everyday and… be willing to take that risk [is vital]," said Detelj. "I want them to push outside their limits a little bit and do stuff here that has never been done before in this program. I think that is not a weakness that we haven't done it yet, but it's something that we're working on."
 
SUNY New Paltz will travel to Utica Friday for their season opener against Union College at 4 p.m. To stay up to date with everything #NPHawks be sure to follow us on Twitter at @nphawks,Instagram and Facebook at @newpaltzhawks, and subscribe to our Youtube channel, New Paltz Hawks.