Box Score Willimantic, CT — The State University of New York at New Paltz women's lacrosse team vanquished Eastern Connecticut State University Tuesday for its third straight win to end its non-conference play, 24-10.
 
The Hawks (4-2 overall) rode into the game with confidence after not only winning, but dominating their previous two games. They defeated their competitors by a whopping 10 points each. The Warriors, entering with an 0-6 record, had never faced SUNY New Paltz before, but the Hawks were confident in their abilities and sought to bring home another win to round out their non-conference competition. 
"We wanted to feed the desire to get better," said SUNY New Paltz coach Keith Detelj. "We also knew coming to someone else's home field, and having a team desperate to win is a dangerous team."
 
Eastern Connecticut scored first in the period, tallying three goals before the Hawks made a single attempt on their cage. Senior attacker Taylor Russell was responsible for registering SUNY New Paltz's first goal, with an assist by sophomore attacker Tara Bovich. It only took five more minutes of play for the Hawks to even the score with the Warriors, with the game tied at five halfway through the first period.
 
A fight for a lead ensued, led by Eastern Connecticut. The two teams remained goal-for-goal until SUNY New Paltz junior attacker Jennifer O'Leary broke the trend. After an assist by sophomore attacker Amy Hofer, O'Leary sunk the ball into the back of the Warriors' net and inspired her Hawks to up the ante. Hofer and Bovich contributed two goals apiece and O'Leary scored another before the period's end, during which SUNY New Paltz only allowed two more goals against.
 
"We had to re-evaluate some of the fundamental breakdowns we weren't doing: defending our cutters and finishing our open looks. We pushed for more focus and concentration seeing forward into the play by helping each other and having a bit more poise when it's your turn to make a play," said Detelj. "Our draw team was a key to keeping our momentum and our players who came in off the sideline came in to give us a needed spark. It was good to see us step up on both sides of the ball in the second half."
 
The Hawks breezed into halftime with a leading score of 13-9. Senior defensive midfielder Sarah Raynock gained a draw control at the start of the second half before passing the ball off to freshman offensive midfielder Maddy Carullo who found O'Leary for another goal. Eastern Connecticut threatened another stalemate, scoring immediately after, but it proved to be its last of the game.
Carullo added on to the Haws lead, which was assisted by Russell. Carullo had an impressive game, recording six shots, three of which resulted in goals, with one assist, five ground balls and was responsible for three caused turnovers.
 
The rest of the second period was highlighted by a slew of goals from multiple players. Hofer and Bovich led the team with five goals each, followed by O'Leary (4), freshman attacker Katie Zito (3), junior attacker Emily Puciloski (2) and senior attackers Ashley Seiter and Russell with a goal apiece. SUNY New Paltz held the Warriors off, barely allowing them to touch the ball.
 
The Hawks out-shot Eastern Connecticut by a massive difference, 51-15. SUNY New Paltz also led in draw controls, 26-10, 14 of which were commanded by Raynock for a season high. Sophomore goalkeeper Haley Timarky made two saves, both of which came in the first half. The Hawks also led in ground balls, 18-6.
 
SUNY New Paltz hopes to take its success into the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) play, which begins Saturday against SUNY Potsdam.
 
"We are excited to finish out our non-league schedule and use that growth and confidence as a platform for us to show what we can do in the SUNYAC," Detelj said.
 
The Hawks will travel to take on SUNY Potsdam Saturday at 12 p.m.

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