Oneonta, NY -- The State University of New York at New Paltz women's lacrosse team suffered its first loss in seven games after facing State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUYAC) rival SUNY Oneonta, a game that was highlighted by senior offensive midfielder Rachael Purtell's goal to even the score during the second period. The brief tie inspired a close match, but the Hawks fell to the Red Dragons, 17-14.

SUNY New Paltz (7-3 overall, 3-1 SUNYAC) have yet to earn a win against its Catskill Cup rival (6-4, 2-0), but the loss was the closest match between the two teams in recorded history. The previous closest match recorded a score of 15-8 in 2016. 

"We knew it was going to be a close match if we didn't execute our chances," said Hawks coach Keith Detelj. "Oneonta did such that they made more on their opportunities for themselves off our turnovers."

The first half of the game was characterized by goal-for-goal play. The Red Dragons were the first to record a goal four minutes into the period, but SUNY New Paltz was quick to retaliate. Purtell gained control of the ball and swiftly avoided Oneonta players attempting to regain control of the ball before sinking it into the back of the net. Purtell had a stellar performance, scoring four goals, matching a career high she set in the previous season against Elmira College. She led the team in ground balls, scooping up six and setting another career high.

"Unfortunately a close margin doesn't give us points," said Detelj. "We had the opportunity to take control of the game and we didn't capitalize on a couple stops, important draws or a bunch of shots we had. We out-shot them, therefore we need to win the scoreboard."

The goal-for-goal play continued for more than half of the first period, where goals were recorded by sophomore attacker Tara Bovich, freshman offensive midfield Maddy Carullo and junior attacker Jennifer O'Leary. The Red Dragons scored two consecutive goals to gain a two point lead over the Hawks, forcing SUNY New Paltz to re-evaluate their defense. Junior defensive midfielder Jahna Beiling stepped up as an aggressive force and blocked further attempts on goal. Sophomore goalkeeper Haley Timarky made one of four saves during the stretch and sent the ball back up to the other half of the field.

A free position shot gave Purtell her second goal, while senior Sarah Raynock boasted a shot on goal of her own after gaining a draw control. The determination to draw up the score was evident, but SUNY New Paltz entered the second period trailing behind Oneonta by three points.

The Hawks entered the second period with fire; Purtell scooped up a ground ball and stole possession from the Red Dragons before passing the ball up to O'Leary for an assist to Bovich. The goal inspired SUNY New Paltz to score another. Sophomore attacker Amy Hofer created a caused turnover on an Oneonta player, scooped up the ground ball and charged it into their goal. Hofer registered three more goals throughout the game, matching Purtell's amount of points.

A long struggle for the ball ensued, but the Hawks made impressive plays to gain up on the Red Dragons. The highlight of the game occured in the 10th minute of the second period when Purtell scored the game-tying goal, knotting the score at 11. The drawn score offered hope for the first SUNY New Paltz win against Oneonta in women's lacrosse history. Unfortunately, the Red Dragons scored two consecutive goals in which the Hawks could not recover from.

The rest of the game was spent in desperation from both teams. Junior attacker Emily Puciloski registered a goal for SUNY New Paltz off a feed from senior attacker Taylor Russell and Timarky scooped up a ground ball of her own, but the efforts were not enough to take home a win.

Despite the loss, the Hawks out-shot Oneonta, 38-34. SUNY New Paltz was awarded 15 total free position shots, which largely aided its success as opposed to the nine the Red Dragons made. The Hawks also boasted more ground balls, 27-25.

"Having a little more composure to the little things gave us a chance to come back, but we needed more," Detelj said.

SUNY New Paltz will travel to take on Buffalo State Saturday at 1 p.m. For everything #NPHawks including photos, video, recaps and highlights, be sure to follow @nphawks on Twitter and @newpaltzhawks on Facebook and Instagram.