After more than a week since its last outing, the State University of New York at New Paltz women's lacrosse team is back on the field Monday when it heads up to SUNY Potsdam to take on the Bears for the first of a home-and-home series.
 
The Hawks were scheduled to hold their home opener Wednesday against SUNY Oneonta and had their original road contest against Potsdam Saturday, but both games were postponed to later dates.

"The biggest challenge this season has definitely been the last-minute game [postponements]," said SUNY New Paltz senior midfielder Keydy Espinoza. "We are all super excited to play so when those things happen, we just have to remain positive and prepare ourselves for our next opponent. I think our team has done a really good job of staying focused throughout all these schedule changes."  
Potsdam is coming off a 14-6 win over Cazenovia College on Tuesday. The Bears are 2-3 on the season, with two of their games being decided in overtime: an 11-10 loss to SUNY Morrisville, and an 11-10 win over SUNY Canton. They did lose two of their games by a blowout margin however, a 22-1 loss to SUNY Oneonta and a 19-0 shutout against SUNY Cortland. Their leading scorers are Keira Thacker and Alli Stark, with seven goals each. Not far behind are Hannah Stevenson and Anita Reitano, each with six goals.
 
The Hawks have had two consecutive games postponed and have played only one game so far. Their lone game was a narrow 18-17 loss to Cortland on March 24. Tara Bovich and Amy Hofer led the offense by scoring five and four goals respectively, combining for nine, and each accomplishing a hat trick. Maddy Carullo and Espinoza each added two goals apiece. Despite the effort, the Hawks wound up losing the back-and-forth battle.
 
"Even though our games have been postponed, we are still looking to prove to everyone just how great of a team we are," Carullo said. "We are preparing for our next game as we typically would. We watched our first game back and have been putting in the work in the areas needed. It's been difficult focusing on our next opponent since our games keep getting pushed back, but we try and focus on one day at a time."
Sophomore midfielder Ella Malanga added, "We go into practice with the same mindset that we're going to come here, play hard, work hard and stay motivated just like we would if we had a game the next day. We've all been sticking together to stay strong."
 
The matchup is the first time SUNY New Paltz and Potsdam have faced off since March 23, 2019. The Hawks won that game 12-9 with Hofer leading the way with three goals. The opening face-off is set for 2 p.m. Monday on the SUNY Potsdam campus.
 

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.