Box Score Brockport, NY— The State University of New York at New Paltz women's lacrosse team started off its latest match strong Saturday, scoring two goals before The College at Brockport could gain possession of the ball, but was unable to sustain the momentum and ultimately fell, 17-8.
 
The loss didn't affect the Hawks' (8-6 overall, 4-4 conference) State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) fifth place standing, which they share with Oswego State, or their SUNYAC playoff bid, which was officially secured Saturday to solidify the program's first ever postseason appearance.  

SUNY New Paltz has yet to boast a win over the Golden Eagles (12-2 overall, 7-1 SUNYAC), who sits as the third seed, but the margin of loss is smaller than in the past few seasons. 
"We are still waiting on Geneseo to beat Buffalo State or we beat Oswego to solidify our spot," explained Hawks coach Keith Detelj.
 
Sophomore attacker Tara Bovich secured the opening draw control and set the tone for SUNY New Paltz's intimidating onset. After tallying a shot on goal, she came back to assist junior attacker Jennifer O'Leary for the team's first goal of the day. Bovich was back shortly after to score a point of her own off a free position, which was granted after a foul was called on a Brockport player.
 
The lead was short lived, however, as the Golden Eagles scored nine consecutive goals before junior Emily Puciloski broke up the run with another goal for the Hawks. Puciloski took advantage of a Brockport turnover, quickly snatching up the ball and capitalizing with her first score of the afternoon. The Golden Eagles retaliated with two more goals before the end of the period, leading 17-8 at the half.
 
"We were able to capitalize when we had good possessions. They showed great energy. We went back to finding ways to attack when we got possession and were more successful," said Detelj. "Our draw circle was a tough place not to find a possession this game and lead to it being harder to fight back amongst the untimely turnovers."
 
SUNY New Paltz saw more success in the second period. Freshman attacker Katie Zito pressured the Golden Eagles' goal, taking three consecutive shots with the last finding the back of the cage to secure the Hawks' fourth goal. Brockport responded with four goals and attempted a fifth, but was stopped by sophomore goalkeeper Haley Timarky, who sent the ball up the field on a clear for a second goal by Bovich.
 
SUNY New Paltz hit its stride with less than 10 minutes left in the game by finding holes in the Golden Eagles' defense, scoring its final three goals of the game. Puciloski instigated the run with her second score. Senior offensive midfielder Rachael Purtell gained the ensuing draw control and got the ball settled on the offensive end before freshman offensive midfielder Maddy Carullo sank a goal off a free position. Senior attacker Taylor Russell claimed the final goal for the Hawks, finishing off an assist from Puciloski, but the efforts were not enough to make up the deficit. Brockport scored with just a few seconds left on the clock to bring the final score up to 17-8.
 
Timarky made an impressive 10 saves throughout her 60 minutes in goal as she faced 38 shots, 27 of which were on target. SUNY New Paltz was tactful in its pressure on net, totaling 20 shots, 12 of which were on goal.
 
The Hawks collected 21 ground balls, compared to 22 for the Golden Eagles. Junior defensive midfielder Jahna Beiling led SUNY New Paltz with five ground balls, which matched a career-high she set during her rookie season against Brockport, and again in 2018 against Hartwick College.
 
"We are taking the loss as a learning moment for us to adjust dig deep and find more opportunities to fight to win aspects of the game," said Detelj.
 
The Hawks will host their final game of the season against Oswego State, who they tie the fifth place SUNYAC standing with, on Saturday on the North Turf 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.