New Paltz, NY -- Despite an aggressive fight until the last second of the buzzer and a determination to prove itself against a 20-time conference champion, the State University of New York at New Paltz women's lacrosse team fell to SUNY Cortland Wednesday, 21-6.

"I think we built on our last performance, and hats off to them. They took care of their opportunities and they're a very good team," said Hawks coach Keith Detelj. "We improved in some areas, and some areas we definitely need to re-establish some more focus on." 

The Red Dragons (9-4 overall, 6-0 conference) are currently tied for first in the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) with SUNY Geneseo. Despite the domineering history, SUNY New Paltz (8-5 overall, 4-3 SUNYAC) remained unintimidated and matched SUNY Cortland's aggressive play to put up a battle throughout the game.

The Red Dragons began the game strong, sinking five goals into the back of the Hawks net within the first 10 minutes of the game. SUNY New Paltz hit its stride shortly after, as sophomore attacker Amy Hofer scored the first goal for the Hawks from a free position opportunity after burying her shot into the lower right corner of the cage.

Hofer won the ensuing draw control, but lost possession following a caused turnover by SUNY Cortland. Freshman Maddy Carullo answered by gaining back control on a caused turnover and ran the distance of the field before finding the back of the Red Dragons' net to register SUNY New Paltz's second goal.

The Hawks' offense became visibly more aggressive and their defense stronger, only allowing one of multiple attempts for SUNY Cortland to score a goal. Trailing 6-2, Sarah Raynock claimed a draw control, which resulted in a goal by SUNY New Paltz defensive midfielder Ashley Seiter, assisted by Hofer.

Carullo and Hofer were both back for another goal apiece before the end of the period. Carullo's came from an assist by freshman attacker Katie Zito. Hofer's goal was highlighted by a quick turnaround. Raynock gained her third of five draw controls and quickly passed to Hofer, who ran the ball down field, initially missing her first shot, but picked up the rebound and sank her second attempt for the goal.

"I think we valued possession a little bit better on the offensive end where we really worked their defense a little bit, and they have a really good defense, so we did a good job of that," said Detelj, "Did we always get the best shot? No, but at least we kept that possession and defense did a good job of getting the ball on the ground. We just didn't finish out our plays, so that's what happens when we don't finish out a lot of the execution of what we want."

SUNY New Paltz entered the second half trailing, 14-5. Its final goal came three minutes into the period from junior attacker Emily Puciloski off a free position. The Hawks attempted four more shots before the end of the game, but relied on their defense to maintain a close margin between the scores. SUNY New Paltz was successful at holding off the champions; only seven goals were allowed in the second period compared to 14 in the first.

The Hawks caused 12 turnovers throughout the game, three of which were caused by sophomore defensive midfielder Megan Tornatore. Raynock led the team with five draw controls, half of the total for SUNY New Paltz. In goal, sophomore Haley Timarky stopped four balls from slipping into the Hawks' net.

The loss demotes the Hawks' SUNYAC standing from fourth to fifth, where they are tied with Oswego State. With only two games left, SUNY New Paltz is still in prime position to cement its first playoff berth for the first time in program history.

"I think they're trying to focus on getting better on the little things that we struggled with from the previous challenges, so they've done a good job of adjusting so far," said Detelj. "We're looking to put a little more hard work in and prepare for the last two games and where we're seeded at this point."

The Hawks will travel for their next match against The College at Brockport Saturday at 1 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.