New Paltz, NY — There is being on a winning streak, and then there is being on a roll. 

With five games to go in its regular season, the State University of New York at New Paltz men's soccer team fits the latter category. 

The Hawks have won six consecutive games and stand at 10-2, the second best record in the SUNYAC, while posting a perfect 5-0 conference record. In the latest United Soccer Coaches Association Poll, they were ranked 21st in the nation, a gigantic leap from their previously unranked status. 

"It's great to be recognized and break into the national picture," said SUNY New Paltz coach Kyle Clancy. "It's certainly been a goal of our program to get there, so I think the way that we've played and the results we've had, it is well earned. We are proud to be there and elevate the program to that level."

The Hawks remaining five games include two back-to-back weekend sets this Friday and Saturday and next. This week, they face 6-7 Fredonia State on Friday and 10-3 Buffalo State on Saturday. Friday is a 4 p.m. kickoff and Saturday is an early noon start.  

The Blue Devils are one game below the .500 mark, but have played some games that very well could have gone their way. Twice they lost by a score of 1-0, and they have also lost by a 2-1 count twice. Last week, they fell to SUNY Plattsburgh, 2-1.  

They are led in scoring by senior defenseman Kevin Loftus, who has four goals, while five of their players have scored at least two goals. SUNY New Paltz has won seven of 10 matchups between the two schools dating back to 2010, and have won the last four. 

"Fredonia plays teams tough," Clancy said. "They'll make it tough for you to create chances, they'll make it tough for you to defend. They created some good chances off set pieces. "They're going to push you to play your best. We've got to make sure that we are on point defensively, that we are defending well individually and defending the box well, and trying to keep them from being able to get into those dangerous areas to create opportunities." 

Saturday, the Hawks take on the Bengals, a team with a 10-3 overall record. Buffalo State leads the SUNYAC in three major categories: points, goals, assists, and senior forward Theo Pencic is the conference leader in goals and points and is second in shots. SUNY New Paltz has won 13 of 17 all-time matchups, with one tie, but are looking to break a four-game losing streak against the Bengals that dates back to October of 2016. 

"They have one of the more dynamic offenses in the conference," Clancy said. "Theo is a great player, a great forward. He moves well, he finishes well, and has a good ability to finish and also create up top. He's certainly someone that you have to gameplan against and have an eye for where he is on the field at all times."

SUNY New Paltz has won 10 of 12 this season on the strength of a balanced offense and a stingy defense. It has goals from 11 different players on the season, four of whom (Gabriel Cruz, Gino Mazzella, Ryan Stevens, and James Maltes) most commonly come off the bench. 

"There's a high level of ability from our bench," Clancy said. "It's all over the field where we're able to get really good support from our guys. We go 18-20 [player's deep] a lot, which I think is huge when we play double weekends. It's guys who are coming in and raising the level and having an impact in numerous ways. It's a really well balanced team." 

Defensively, the team has conceded just five goals with goalkeeper Marc DePasquale totaling 31 saves. Clancy lauded the efforts of DePasquale, who he said is playing very confidently, while also crediting the rest of the group as a whole for their work on that end. 

"It's every player on the field together working to defend," he said. "Teams see that as a challenge, when you try to go from building out of the back to progression to the middle third to creating in the final third, there's always intent from us to put pressure on the ball, get player's heads down, make them make difficult passes under pressure and try and minimize the good chances that they can get. In the end, we've done a really good job of keeping the ball out of the net. There's a lot of heart, grit and determination to how they play." 

SUNY New Paltz currently sits at the top the conference standings, alongside No. 11 nationally ranked SUNY Cortland. The goal on the weekend is to continue rolling and come away with six more points to keep their grasp on the top seed in the SUNYAC Tournament. 

"We're focused on what we need to be doing right now, which is getting six points this weekend, because it's a big one," Clancy said. "Getting six points is always hard to do on the road, so that is going to be big. If we get these two wins, it just continues to keep us in that position where we might qualify for first or second place if we stay on the same trajectory." 

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