After a long, sport-less year, the State University of New York at New Paltz athletes are officially back, and one of the first sports returning is women's lacrosse. As the world slowly finds some form of normalcy, the Keith Detelj-led Hawks are looking to come back with a bang. In 2021, SUNY New Paltz is in pursuit to become the third non-Cortland team to ever hoist the SUNYAC women's lacrosse title.
 
Like many things in the past year, last season finished before it had even started for SUNY New Paltz. The Hawks played five non-conference games before the world -- college sports included-- shut down. In those five contests the team went 2-3, earning wins over St. Joseph's-Long Island and Hartwick College. 
 
 
After going 8-8 in 2019 and securing a spot in the SUNYAC playoffs, SUNY New Paltz's chance to build on their growth and become a contender was taken away due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The 2021 campaign, while shortened, is an opportunity for the program to make themselves a competitor for the SUNYAC title.
 
"We've been really lucky to have a season and be able to practice," said Hawks junior attacker Katie Zito. "I think everyone has been putting in such a strong effort, especially the underclassmen and the freshmen. They've really been putting in the work to show us that they deserve a spot out there." 
SUNY New Paltz graduated three seniors from last year's squad, in Jennifer O'Leary, Jahna Beiling, and Emily Puciloski. The latter of the trio is not done at New Paltz yet however, as she joined Detelj's staff as an assistant coach for the new year.
 
The spots left behind by the three were filled by the team's 2020 recruiting class, as freshmen Hailey Aber, Kaitlyn Shaw, and Kate St. Lucia will be making their debuts for the team in the upcoming year.
 
While the cancelled season was clearly a hindrance for the team, the youthful Hawks return the vast majority of their roster. Not only will 2019 50-point standouts Tara Bovich and Amy Hofer be returning for their senior years, but six women -- Ella Malanga, Shannon Brosnan, Alex Coyle, Cayci Hill, Camryn Ryder, and Maddie Gillis -- from their 2019 recruiting class are back for their second season. SUNY New Paltz has a nice blend of youth and experience. In addition to their six sophomores, the Hawks boast 11 upperclassmen (eight seniors) to round out a roster filled with arguably the most depth it has seen in program history.
 
"I think our biggest strength right now going into the season is our communication and our team chemistry," Bovich said. "We're definitely really excited. We haven't had a game in over a year now, so us returners are really excited and I know the freshmen are really, really excited too.  
 
A never before seen year also brings forward a never before seen schedule. In an attempt to keep players and staff safe and limit travel, the team will not play any non-conference games in the upcoming season. Instead, they will participate in a shortened schedule compiled of eight SUNYAC matchups between March and April 24, before hopefully participating in the SUNYAC tournament on the weekend of April 29. The team's schedule will consist of four conference opponents, as they'll take on all of Oneonta, Plattsburgh, Potsdam, and Cortland twice in the SUNYAC East Division. 
 
"In the East Division I think we're set up really nicely," Hofer said. Obviously, Cortland is a really big opponent. We've never beaten them before, we've never beaten Oneonta, but I think if we come out strong enough against Potsdam and Plattsburgh we'll have a really good chance of taking on Oneonta and possibly even Cortland… Coming off that 2019 playoff run are pretty high. I think we really set the bar for ourselves to really get back into playoffs this year and make an even further run."  
 
SUNY New Paltz will travel to Cortland Wednesday for its season opener against the Red Dragons at 4 p.m. 



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