New Paltz, NY — After finishing the regular season with a 12-4 overall record, the State University of New York at New Paltz men's soccer team earned a bye into the SUNYAC tournament semifinals. On Saturday, the Hawks learned who their opponent would be in the semifinal after sixth-seeded SUNY Oswego upset 10-win SUNY Oneonta, 5-4 in penalty kicks in Oneonta.
SUNY New Paltz, which last game was a 2-0 Oct. 23 loss at SUNY Cortland, will host the Lakers Wednesday at 1 p.m. at the South Turf Field, where it is a perfect 7-0 on the year. The postseason matchup is the first in 11 days for the Hawks after their scheduled regular season finale against Russell Sage on Oct. 26 was cancelled due to weather.
"We've done well this year at home," said SUNY New Paltz coach Kyle Clancy. "Guys are comfortable with the field and surface and the environment, so I think there's definitely a nice positive to being here. We've shown that we can play well here."
It will be the second meeting in 12 days for the Hawks and Oswego, who last met on Oct. 22 in Oswego, a 2-1 SUNY New Paltz win. Goal scorers for the Hawks were Gino Mazzella and Tim Kane, with both goals coming in response to an 11th-minute score by Ryan Young that put the Lakers up 1-0. The Hawks out-shot their opposition 18-12 in the game, with seven shots on goal. They were awarded eight corner kicks to the Lakers' two, and goalkeeper Marc DePasquale saved three shots, all in the second half.
Mazzella finished the season with three goals, while Kane finished with two. Leading SUNY New Paltz in scoring on the year was Kenneth Roby, who scored six goals, all of which came in the first four weeks of the season. Philip Varner scored four, and Brandon Davenport joined Mazzella with three. Joseph DiPreta, Owen McGarrity, James Maltes and Ryan Stevens also scored twice on the season, with Gabriel Cruz and Paul Tola adding one goal each.
SUNY New Paltz's 12-4 record included a seven-game winning streak from Sept. 18 to Oct. 15 that propelled them to 11-2, securing five shutouts in that span. They allowed just 11 goals all season long, the fewest allowed in the conference, and they finished second in the conference to 14-2-1 SUNY Cortland.
Clancy is excited for his group to be back in the playoff mix after a 2019 season that saw them miss out on postseason play. 
"We had a season off [in 2020] so we really had that one year that we missed [the postseason]. It's good to be where we want to be," Clancy said. "This is a spot we expect to be every year, and it's a very exciting time and it's a game you want to play in. We are definitely happy to be here."
The Lakers finished the regular season eighth in the conference in both goals (21) and points (55), but were able to muster nine shots, with an impressive six on goal, in the SUNYAC quarterfinal. Freshman midfielder Hajoon Lee scored in the 63rd minute to tie the game up, and they would win the contest after the Red Dragons' Malcolm Swett missed the final penalty kick.
Lee was one of three Oswego players to score at least two goals on the season, with sophomore Kyle Gehnrich leading the team with four goals. Saturday's quarterfinal victory was the first win for the team since Oct. 8.
"I think he [head coach Dan Kane] has made a couple nice adjustments throughout the season in figuring out his best 11 and what group he's most comfortable with to create," Clancy said. "We've got a good idea of what to expect based on what we've seen. They're a quality side, they work hard, they're organized, and they defend well. They're really dangerous in set pieces, especially long throws. They got that goal off a long throw against Oneonta. They're gonna be good as a test and someone that we're going to be well prepared for."
For a game with as much on the line as Wednesday's semifinal affair does, Clancy has his team ready, relaxed, and focused for this season's most important contest.
"Practices have been great this week," he said. "Great energy, great competitiveness, execution, working on a few things coming off that last weekend that we just wanted to fix a bit and improve on. We're going to be more prepared now than we were a week ago. To have this opportunity to compete in these do or die games with everything on the line is what these guys play for."
Despite not playing in the Russell Sage finale on the 26th, the coach senses no physical wear or adjustment for Wednesday and has his team primed for a hopeful victory.
"They're ready for it, they're excited and we'll be ready to go. From what I've seen from the group we are all extremely confident as we head into the game Wednesday."
****************************
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.
