New Paltz, NY — The State University of New York (SUNY) at New Paltz women's lacrosse team earned its first victory of the season Wednesday after defeating St. Joseph's College-Long Island, 16-11. 
 
The Hawks came out victorious despite struggling to break away with a lead in the first half. In the early minutes of the game, the Golden Eagles gained possession of the ball early and were first to attempt a shot on goal against SUNY New Paltz junior goalie Haley Timarky who saved her first 10 shots faced within the first two minutes into the first half. Timarky's save gave the Hawks the opportunity to transition the ball to the opposite side where freshman midfielder Shannon Brosnan took advantage of the possession and put the ball in the back of the cage. SUNY New Paltz may have been up on the board first, but its 1-0 lead did not stand for long. 
 
Less than two minutes after the Hawks scored, St. Joseph's-LI put up two goals, both scored by junior midfielder Tori Staker. In the first half, the two teams went tit-for-tat in goals and exchanged the lead throughout. At halftime, the score was tied, 7-7. 
 
SUNY New Paltz did many things well offensively and defensively, yet it struggled breaking away from the Golden Eagles and were unable to get an advantage in the first half.

"Yeah I mean the first half we were playing great [defense] and we had our chances on [offense], but it was about finishing our plays you know, like getting the ball back to [offense] and actually burying the shots that we were taking," said Hawks senior attacker Jennifer O'Leary.
 
During the break in play,  Detelj took the opportunity to ground his team and revert his players back to the original game plan they created going into the game.

"We asked them to be a little bit more disciplined to their focus and what type of pass they wanted to put in. You know really trying to think of an unselfish way to set up somebody else," Detelj explained, "... I think that really showed true on the offensive end and our help defense looked great. We're really trying to stick back to our scout that allowed us to be a little bit more successful in the second half." 
 
The direction Detelj gave his team proved successful in the second half. SUNY New Paltz took some time to capitzlie, but once freshman Ella Malanga for the back of the net for the Hawks, the team found their rhythm and showed a newfound energy on the field. 
 
In the remaining minutes of the game, five different Hawks contributed to SUNY New Paltz's lead, scoring five consecutive times without letting one shot from the Golden Eagles in. The seven goal lead was disrupted with just over four minutes remaining in the game when St. Joseph's found the back of the net twice more. Yet, the Hawks were still able to come out on top. 
 
"I think we played very good in spurts of the game and I think that we played a little sloppy at times. but overall to come out in the second half and hold them to four goals and us putting up nine is definitely a really really good half," Detelj said.
 
There were many positive points of play SUNY New Paltz performed that it hopes to carry moving forward future games, but they realize their execution needs to improve if they want to reach the goals they set out to open up the season.
 
"I think defense was really well you know we worked together and we had each others back throughout the game so that was definitely a strength and just you know one thing we have to keep working on is working together on [offense] and finishing the shots," O'Leary said. 
 
The win over St. Joseph's Long Island was a special one for the Hawks senior class of O'Leary, Jahna Beiling and Emily Puciloski, who earned the title of the winningest players in program history with the victory.
 
"Oh I'm truly proud of them. I think they've come a long way and I think it's something they take a lot of pride in and continue to get better every year and because of that they now have a little medal… or a pat on the shoulder about it and I don't think they're done either." Detelj said. "I think they're ready to rack up the score to make it a little bit harder for the players that are following them." 
 
SUNY New Paltz will step back onto the North Turf Field Saturday to take on Hartwick College at 12 p.m. 
 
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