After cementing its spot in the State University of New York Athletic Center (SUNYAC) playoffs for the first time in program history, the State University of New York at New Paltz women's lacrosse team confidently heads into its last regular season home game to face off Oswego State.
The Hawks (8-6 overall, 4-4 SUNYAC) currently sit as the sixth seed, sneaking in to steal the final playoff spot. Their place as a conference contender was solidified after SUNY Geneseo defeated Buffalo State, eliminating the latter from consideration. The winner of the Saturday match determines the final seeds for playoffs: the winner will go on to play SUNY Oneonta, while the defeated team will face off against SUNY Cortland. 
"Coach said this week is about enjoying our week and getting ready to play the way that we usually do. He said that whoever plays the most like themselves should be the winner of this game," said Hawks senior offensive midfielder Rachael Purtell. "Even though we've clinched the playoff spot and we're going no matter what happens on Saturday, we still want to win and celebrate the [seniors] and the team that we're leaving behind and the legacy that we build."
Other than hosting its final tune-up before playoffs, SUNY New Paltz will be celebrating its graduating seniors. Purtell, along with attacker Taylor Russell and defensive midfielders Ashley Seiter and Sarah Raynock will be honored before the start of the game for the hard work and diligence they've committed to the program throughout their careers.
"All of us… we're giving everything we've got in these last couple of games, and it's an amazing feeling knowing that senior game isn't our last game that we play and we'll make it further and go to playoffs," said Seiter. "Using that hard work that we've come together in our last game, we never gave up and I think that's really going to show forth in the next couple of games when we come around with the win."
The Hawks' most recent game resulted in a defeat to The College at Brockport, 17-8. Despite the loss, the team saw an increased capitalization in possession and aggressive attack. The Golden Eagles found more draw controls and created more turnovers, 20-6 and 16-9 respectively, ultimately leading to a win. Although discouraging, the loss did not affect the SUNY New Paltz's chances at a playoff position.
"We knew [Brockport] was going to be a tough team, tough competition, going into it..," said Russell. "Although we didn't come out with a win like we wanted to, a lot of good things still came out of that game. We worked a lot on our fundamentals. We had some great defensive saves, great clears and we stopped the clock. We didn't give up, we fought until the very last minute, and I think we could take those positives and run with it against Oswego and into playoffs."
The match against Oswego State (8-4 overall, 5-3 SUNYAC) will be the final game before the Hawks head to their first playoff contest in program history. The Lakers sit as the fourth seed, moving up from their fifth place standing after securing an overtime win in their most recent SUNYAC match against Oneonta, 14-13.
A win Saturday for SUNY New Paltz would be a first over the Lakers since 2015. If the Hawks beat Oswego by six or more goals then the team will have the honor of hosting the first round of playoffs, which will also be a program first.
"In order to prepare for Oswego, we're looking at sharpening our shooting skills and our communication in the field and really just learning from our mistakes in the past and learning how to just work through those on the field and off the field," said Raynock.
The 2019 season is the most successful in program history. SUNY New Paltz boasts the highest amount of conference and overall wins of any previous team, surpassing the record held by the 2012 Hawks (7-10 overall, 2-6 SUNYAC), and are the first to claim a playoff bid.
SUNY New Paltz is set to host its final match before the first round of playoffs against Oswego State Saturday at 1 p.m. on the North Turf Field. 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.
