New Paltz, NY — The State University of New York at New Paltz women's soccer team secured its second win in the last decade against SUNY Oneonta, and its first since 2011, in a tough fought, 1-0 victory against their SUNYAC rival Saturday.
SUNY New Paltz (5-5-1, 3-2 SUNYAC) had lost its last eight matches against the Red Dragons (0-9-1, 0-4-1 SUNYAC), only scoring a single goal in total before its win on the South Turf Saturday. The Hawks had defeated Oneonta just four times before their win Saturday: in 1985, 1987 and 1987 and not again — and not since — 2011.
"It is a testament to the student-athletes commitment that they give on a day-to-day basis," said SUNY New Paltz coach Mike Eckberg on the win.
The Hawks started the game in complete control of the ball, keeping it on the Red Dragons' side of the field for the first five minutes of the game. A shot attempt 55 seconds into the match by senior Cailin Ruoti was saved by senior goalkeeper Sidney Restivo to keep the game scoreless early. After five minutes, the Red Dragons were finally able to get a shot attempt on a strike by Emma Kirkpatrick, which was saved by sophomore goalkeeper Kyra Russo as it rolled to her.
Oneonta had another chance to score in the 10th minute, when Joie Tottorice's shot attempt into the left corner was collected on a diving play by Russo. A 13th minute corner kick for the Hawks was knocked out by Restivo and the Red Dragons countered the other way, catching the Hawks with uneven numbers on their defensive side. SUNY New Paltz recovered quickly though, and stymied the damage. 
A foul by Grace Syron in the 16th minute was the turning point, as freshman midfielder Alexis DeLeo took a shot on goal on the ensuing free kick just outside the box, which sailed past the Red Dragons' wall and over the outstretched hand of Restivo, finding the back of the net for her first collegiate goal.
"I'm so proud of her," Russo said of her teammate's goal. "We practiced those in practice, and I've been waiting for her to get one and I was so excited when it happened."
After the goal, the Hawks defense completely stifled any scoring chances Oneonta had, keeping the Red Dragons on their own side of the field or far away from the goal. Their only shot attempt for the remainder of the half was by Robin Confer, which missed wide. Meanwhile, the Hawks continued to put pressure on Restivo, who was filling in at goalkeeper in just her third game. SUNY New Paltz dominated possession at the half and put six of eight shots on target with plenty of other opportunities.
The second half started with good chances for SUNY New Paltz, including two corner kicks but the Hawks could not convert. That included a very quick opportunity in the 46th minute, where junior forward Ally Donovan found herself in front of the goal, but a quick closeout prevented her from getting a shot off, forcing her to pass the ball back out. SUNY New Paltz created space for another shot attempt on goal in the 51st minute, but the attempt into the bottom left corner was saved by Restivo. Getting out quickly, the Red Dragons raced down the field and put a shot that missed just right of the frame.
Oneonta's closest chance to tie the score came in the 54th minute, when a free kick by Abbey Wood found the goal, but a leaping tip by Russo, her fourth save of the game, retained the shutout. The resulting corner kick was well defended by the Hawks and they cleared without giving up anything dangerous.
SUNY New Paltz continued to get close to the goal for opportunities. Restivo added three saves on shot attempts that found her hands in a span of six minutes. The Hawks had a golden opportunity to get another goal in the 70th minute, but Donovan's shot attempt missed wide left. Another opportunity created by graduate student midfielder Lisette Palomo hit the foot of Donovan, but the touch went wide. Another opportunity for the Hawks was negated by an offsides call.
"I thought there were several high level ideas in our final third that didn't come to fruition," Eckberg said. "The ideas are there and we can build off of them through our process with training & film."
In the final 10 minutes of the game, the Red Dragons began to find the Hawks' side of the field. Another Confer attempt was saved in the bottom right corner, while another opportunity was stopped by an offsides call. The Red Dragons earned two corner kick attempts in the 84th and 85th minutes. The first one was well defended by SUNY New Paltz, and the second was deflected out, leading to a long strike by Miquela Quiles that missed well to the right.
"We were more trying to keep the ball out of our half, but...we kept giving it to them, so they kept coming back," Russo said. "I think that's a matter of being comfortable holding the ball and keeping possession and scoring a second goal so there's a little more cushion there. I think we got a little too relaxed knowing that we were in the lead."
After a third corner kick with just three minutes, 30 seconds remaining, Oneonta could not find the Hawks' half of the field again until the very final seconds when the whistle blew, securing the 1-0 Hawks victory.
"I'm extremely proud of my team and especially the defense for holding everything down in the back and keeping it sound," Russo said. "I did have a couple saves and there were a couple close calls, but that's what I'm there for, so I had a lot of fun today."
"This win feels amazing and the goal feels amazing," DeLeo added. "I think our team has worked really hard throughout the season to get where we are right now, and it's just showing every single game that we keep playing. I cannot wait to see what else we do and keep pushing forward for the playoffs."
SUNY New Paltz attempted 16 shots, 11 of them on target, compared to the Red Dragons four of eight shots on target. Russo recorded four saves en route to her third collegiate shutout, while Restivo had a career-high 10 saves for Oneonta.
"The poise, confidence, and belief in one another grows every day," Eckberg said. "We have to stay connected and have to keep investing in bettering the player to our right and our left every day."
SUNY New Paltz will look to finish the season strong with its last four matches starting on Friday, when it faces Fredonia State at home. The game is scheduled to start at 3 p.m. on the South Turf Field.
Post-Game with Kyra Russo
------------------------------
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.
