New Paltz, NY — The State University of New York at New Paltz field hockey team came out victorious in its SUNYAC matchup against the Geneseo Knights, 3-1 Saturday.   

Heading into the 2021 season, the Hawks set a goal of being undefeated in conference play. After achieving a 4-0 record in the SUNYAC thus far, SUNY New Paltz went into its match against the Knights (3-2 in SUNYAC) knowing it had an important job to do against a top conference competitor. 

"Our goals going into the game were to really make sure we were first to everything: a lot of energy, a lot of communication, and just overall possession, working the ball up with small passes... getting some goals and bringing high intensity, " said Hawks senior captain Courtney Kruzikas.  

SUNY New Paltz was off to a flat start in the first quarter, struggling to have clean receptions and dictating where the ball was being placed. The Hawks were in tight competition with Geneseo during the first half of the game and were challenged with the constant back and forth of the ball in the middle of the field.

By halftime, the two teams were even in corners with three each, yet the Hawks out-shot the Knights, nine to three. With a minute and 30 seconds left in the first half, SUNY New Paltz sophomore Hannah Ackerman found the back of the cage with a hard shot from the top of the circle, helping the Hawks scrape by with a 1-0 lead going into the second half of play. 
 

"It took us a while to get going... once the second half hit we decided that we were going to move high press and try to really disrupt their back field," said SUNY New Paltz coach Shanna Szablinski. "Geneseo's back field is really good; they're solid, they're disciplined... so, it really did make a huge difference with us attacking."

At halftime, the Hawks needed to find their intensity and play the smart and simple game of hockey they know well. With a high press, they intended to break up Geneseo's ball handling and ball movement on the field. 

"... At half-time we really focused on pressing up on the ball, working on the give and go's that we did at the end of the first half, and... better communication so that we [could] move toward the ball... get corners, and rip shots," said Kruzikas.  

Going into the third period, Natasia Plunkett helped set the tone for SUNY New Paltz and found success on the forward line, throwing a jab to break up the play and driving hard to the cage to fire a shot 46 seconds into the period. The attempt was saved by Knights goalie Sarah Quinlan, but the momentum encouraged SUNY New Paltz to continue to play high pressure and keep the ball in their attacking 50 for a majority of the third quarter. Despite their improved efforts though, Geneseo continued to apply pressure and kept the third quarter scoreless. The Hawks held their 1-0 lead going into the final period.  

Hungry to find the back of the cage, the hosts came in with high energy in the last quarter. Two minutes in, SUNY New Paltz found a Knights foot to gain a penalty corner, giving the Hawks the opportunity they needed to find the back of the net and with a pass from senior Jessica Ascencao at the top of the circle, Ackerman scored her fifth goal of the season, bringing SUNY New Paltz to a 2-0 lead. 

Two minutes later, a foul at the left post by Quinlan caused a penalty stroke. Hawks senior midfielder Shannon Bernhardt took the stroke and confidently split the goalkeeper's legs to score, increasing her team's lead, 3-0.  

With the success found early on in the fourth quarter, SUNY New Paltz needed to continue to play smart to keep its lead in the remaining minutes of the game. Though the intensity remained, a few mistakes made in the Hawks defensive end allowed the Knights two penalty corners, one of which resulted in a goal by Sadie Mitchell with less than two minutes left in the game.  

In the remaining minutes, SUNY New Paltz held its 3-1 lead and won the match to remain undefeated in conference play. Though the Hawks were pleased with the result, they were aware of the aspects of the game they need to work on to finish the season how they intend to, on top. 

"I think making decisions, sharper and sooner with the ball is something we need to improve upon as time goes on, but you know sealing the deal with three goals was excellent and we're really excited to move forward," Szablinski said.

"[We're] definitely still hungry for more. We've got another game Tuesday and we are really excited to kill it and keep working on getting our overall goal of being number one... We're going to keep taking it day-by-day, working as hard as we can [to come] out on top,"  Kruzikas said.

SUNY New Paltz heads into its last, regular season SUNYAC matchup against the Oneonta Red Dragons Tuesday on the North Turf Field.  

Hawks vs. Geneseo GAME HIGHLIGHTS

*************************
 

To stay up to date with everything #NPHawks be sure to follow us on Twitter at @nphawks, Instagram and Facebook at @newpaltzhawks, and subscribe to our Youtube channel, New Paltz Hawks.