Carlisle, PA — Despite coming alive in the second half, the SUNY New Paltz women's soccer team dropped its season opener at Dickinson College by a mark of 3-1 Friday. The Hawks found the back of the net for the first time in 2019 in the 58th minute to cut the Dickinson lead to one, but the Red Devils struck right back, scoring eight minutes later, obtaining a comfortable lead.
 
"Overall, we tried to stay focused on the controllables," Hawks coach Mike Eckberg explained. "I thought our work rate was solid tonight from an individual standpoint, but it was not good enough cohesively as a unit."
 
The Red Devils came out of the gate aggressively, putting two of three shots on target by the 16th minute. Both shots were saved by Hawks keeper Megan Tornatore, but seven minutes later Dickinson was able to find the back of the net on a Meg Tate goal in the 24th minute. Less than two minutes later, the Red Devils struck again. This time Addy Zandi scored to push the lead, 2-0. 
"There was a lack of urgency in our defensive third that led to those goals," Eckberg said. "We learned after our scrimmage that that cannot be an area where we lack urgency."
 
The Hawks struggled to get anything going offensively for the remainder of the first half. Dickinson ended the opening 45 minutes with six shots on goal, while SUNY New Paltz did not take a shot.
 
"The biggest theme offensively and what we stressed the most after the game was that there is a difference between playing to win and playing not to lose," Eckberg said. "We had some individuals playing to win, but we were not unified enough in that effort."
 
The Red Devils were aggressive early on in the second half as well, firing five shots in the first 11 minutes. However, this time only one of those shots were on target, and it was saved by Tornatore. Eckberg made an adjustment at halftime that helped restrict Dickinson.
 
"We tried to gain better control within our midfield, and as a result, they were unable to produce as many attacking opportunities," Eckberg said.
 
The Hawks' defensive stand ultimately led to some offensive momentum. In the 58th minute, first-year forward Ally Donovan found the back of the net unassisted to cut the deficit to one.
 
"It was a pure goal off a purely individual effort," Eckberg said. "She found a great angle and was able to finish right away. It was a great moment."
 
Dickinson fired right back in the 66th minute, as Zandi scored her second goal of the game extending the Red Devils' lead to 3-1. The goal was assisted by Kyra Thomas. SUNY New Paltz pushed and had a few more chances, but was unable to capitalize. 
 
"Ally's goal led to a couple set pieces after, but it was not enough for us to regain any sort of real momentum," Eckberg explained. "In moments like that, you really have to dig deep to try to find the next level to even things up."
 
Tornatore finished the game with six saves for the Hawks, but the aggressive Red Devil front proved to be too tough to handle. Dickinson put nine of their 19 shots on target and took seven corner kicks. SUNY New Paltz put three of its four shots on goal and took one corner kick.
 
The Hawks will have a quick turnaround after the defeat, as they travel to Chester, PA to take on Widener University Saturday at 4:30 p.m. Widener is 1-0 after taking down Delaware Valley Friday by a mark of 4-1. The Pride finished the 2018 season 8-8-3 and fell in the first round of the MAC Commonwealth Conference Tournament.
 
"Widener is going to try to continue their momentum from today's win," Eckber said. "This weekend replicates a SUNYAC weekend, and we have to find a way to get a result tomorrow. We cannot walk out of this weekend winless."

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