CHESTER, PA -- Playing its second non-conference road game in as many days, the State University of New York at New Paltz women's soccer team was defeated by Widener University 3-0 Saturday. The loss put the Hawks at a record of 0-2 in 2019.
 
"It is an unacceptable opening weekend overall," Hawks coach Mike Eckberg said. "We will learn very quickly if this team can handle adversity and find ways in the run of play to be successful." 
 SUNY New Paltz started off the game more aggressive offensively than it did the previous night at Dickinson, as it got off two shots and earned a corner kick in the first 13 minutes of play. However, the shots came up empty.
 
The Pride did not come up empty early on, scoring two goals in the first 18 minutes of play. The first score came in the sixth minute, as Lexi Slusher found a gap and fired the ball past Hawks keeper Megan Tornatore. Alyssa Dionisio assisted the goal.
 
After the Hawks threatened for a moment, Widener charged down the field and found the back of the net in the 18th minute. Alex Polon scored the goal off an assist from Hannah Berard.  
 
"We discussed the need to have a sense of urgency in defensive third, which was a repeat from Friday's match. We cannot make the same mistakes," Eckberg said.
 
Late in the first half, SUNY New Paltz effectively moved the ball from its defensive third into the midfield, but the Hawks struggled to push forward into attacking territory. They struggled to find gaps with good passing angles, leading to turnovers.
 
The Pride struck first in the second half, as Melissa Koch made an individual effort to get past Tornatore before ripping a shot into an open goal extending the lead 3-0. The Hawks earned two corner kicks and got off three shots in the second half, but they were unable to capitalize.
 
Widener finished the game putting nine of 14 shots on target. The Hawks put three of six shots on target and took four corner kicks. Tornatore added six saves to her statline. 
 
The Hawks will have three days to prepare for their home opener against Old Westbury on Wednesday. The Panthers will come into the contest with a 1-0 record after defeating SUNY Cobleskill 4-2 on Saturday. 
 
Heading into Wednesday, Eckberg said, "The focus will be to continue to build on different attacking patterns to be more fluid in our attack."

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