New Paltz, NY — On a steamy Wednesday afternoon, the State University of New York at New Paltz men's soccer team took home its fourth victory of the season in a 1-0 barn burner against Vassar College (2-2-1 overall).

"We were up against it in the first half," said Hawks coach Kyle Clancy. "But they showed excellent resiliency and played a really good second half."

The game got off to an uneventful start, but in the 27th minute, last year's goal leader, Kevin Doorley, found the top right corner to put his squad up 1-0 for SUNY New Paltz. 

"Coltan [Goodwine] played the ball to me out wide…and at the last second, I decided to take it forward and see what happened," Doorley said. "The guy gave me the space…so I just kicked it by and ran by him. I looked to the middle right when I got to the 18, didn't see anything open so I went for the shot, and it was a good finish." 

For Doorley, who found the back of net 13 times last season, the goal was his first of the year, with Goodwine credited with the assist.

Even with the goal, The Hawks (4-1 overall) seemed to be shocked coming out of the gate against an aggressive Brewers team. Vassar kept the ball on SUNY New Paltz's side of play for a good amount of the first half, but SUNY New Paltz stood tall, maintaining the goose egg on the Brewer side of the scoreboard.

"They [Vassar] showed a little bit of a different shape in how they pressed, which we didn't handle very well, and what we planned for just didn't work," said Clancy. "In the second half, as a coaching staff, we tried to go more direct and play more in their end, and once we were able to do that we opened them up a bit. We just needed to adjust a little bit, play some guys in behind, and we got a little bit more control playing in their half rather than ours."

Despite the low scoring final, both teams had a plethora of chances in their matchup. Multiple breakaway opportunities for the Hawks in the second half were denied by Brewer goalie Will Marment, keeping the match within reach.

"In the first half they were probably a little more into the game, up for it more, but in the second half we came out strong. We eliminated their chances and we did a good job," said Doorley. "We were unlucky, we should've had a couple, but it's all right. We still get the win."

In the end the Hawks, who out-shot Vassar 14-10, escaped with a close win. It was the first time SUNY New Paltz defeated the Brewers since 2010, going 0-7-1 in that span, including a 1-0 loss last season.

"One thing I appreciate about this team, it's a gritty team," said Clancy. "They're hardworking. They know how to close games out, and it's just a really gritty group."

The Hawks will look to win five of their first six games for the first time since 2015 on Saturday against King's College.

"It was a battle last year. It was a gritty, physical game, and they're really tough to play against," said Clancy. "Anything less than the effort we had today it's gonna be tough to come up with the result, but this team is up for the challenge."

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