New Paltz, NY --- The State University of New York at New Paltz men's lacrosse team finished up its 2021 season Friday on the South Turf Field against Catskill Cup rival SUNY Oneonta.

The Hawks (0-7 overall, 0-6 SUNYAC) never led in the game, but their defense held tough down the stretch to get within five in the final quarter. The offense couldn't get enough opportunities on frame, however, and the Red Dragons took the win, 13-5.

"I think our offense, there's a lot of room for growth there," said SUNY New Paltz coach Dwayne Stewart. "We are very inconsistent. We are young, so a lot of the experience stuff that helps build and grow a steady offense isn't there. I think it is going to take a full year of lacrosse in order to figure out how to be more efficient and effective on offense."

The Hawks didn't muster a shot in their first two possessions of the game and finally registered their first attempt with seven minutes left that went wide by John Reese. Oneonta countered with two goals on its first offensive attempts and led 2-0 within the first two minutes before adding its third halfway through the first quarter. Ryan Scully slotted SUNY New Paltz's first goal of the game with about four and a half minutes left in the period, sneaking his shot near pipe passed the Red Dragons' Jordan Berson.

Oneonta regained its three-goal advantage two minutes later on a long offensive possession. It fired four shots on Hawks goalie Nate Lindsay before Dean Cannon found the back of the net on the final attempt to push the score to 4-1. A penalty by Elias Elcock on the ensuing faceoff gave the Red Dragons a man-up advantage and they capitalized with another goal to end the first with a 5-1 lead.
 

"We talk about the little things all the time, because the little things add up and those little things bit us. Sometimes it doesn't, but it did to us today," Stewart said. "They scored on almost every single mistake that we made. It is a young thing again. It is an unexperienced thing. It is a numbers thing as much as it is anything else. We don't have the numbers in practice to really operate in the middle of the field and play full field where they can learn a lot of different things. We should have more numbers in the fall to help with that and hopefully we can correct some of the mistakes that we make."

Thomas Armetta helped cut the deficit to four, answering after Oneonta scored to start the second quarter. Scully fed a cutting Armetta inside who ripped his shot in the back of the net with about eight minutes to go in the half. Oneonta went on a 2-0 run to end the period and took a six-goal cushion into the second half.

Dean Cannon gave the Red Dragons a 9-2 lead to open up the third quarter, but the Hawks responded two minutes later, fueled by a strong defensive stand as Oneonta won the ensuing faceoff.

Ryan Steinhart, who stepped in the cage for Lindsay to start the second half, made a stop on a shot by Connor Gallagher. Oneonta picked up the ground ball to continue on offense, but Zach Schmidt forced a turnover, playing tight defense on Jack Dinnegan, which led to the Hawks' third goal of the game. Scully from behind the goal found Aiden Jones who recorded his second goal of the year. 
The Hawks added their second-straight goal about two minutes later, again instigated by another defensive stand on their side of the field. As the shot clock waned, SUNY New Paltz forced a tough shot by Owen Vail that was easily saved by Steinhart who got the ball back up the field for a clear. Schmidt then fired a pretty pass to Armetta who whipped a pistol of a shot for the score.

Cannon pushed Oneonta up 10-4 with about six minutes left after back-to-back penalties had both teams playing 5-v-5. The Red Dragons nearly put themselves up by seven entering the fourth, ripping five shots in their final possession but Steinhart was a wall, saving four of five attempts and finally on the last attempt scooped up the ground ball to get the ball down the field as time expired.

"Ryan is a microwave. If he sees one, he pretty much sees them all," Stewart said. "He's an unbelievable stopper from the perimeter. As he gets older, his ability to see shots from the inside is going to get better, but he gave us life in the second half. He did a great job on the clear as well. I was very impressed with him. I am looking forward to a bright future with him in the fall."

SUNY New Paltz forced back-to-back turnovers on consecutive Red Dragons possession, first by Jaden Salmoiraghi and then by Michael Devoe. Neither team added onto the score, however, until 7:30 left on the clock. The Hawks traded turnovers with Oneonta and won the ball back on their offensive side with Stewart calling a timeout to draw up a play. Out of the timeout, Scully muscled his way passed his defender and ripped a laser passed Berson to get the hosts within five. However, the Red Dragons countered with three unanswered goals to end the game.

Cannon scored or assisted on seven of the Red Dragons' 13 goals to lead all scorers. Scully led the Hawks with two goals and two assists, followed by Armetta with two goals and Jones with the one. Steinhart had an impressed day in goal, finishing with 12 saves, 10 coming in the third quarter in 30 minutes of action.

The game marked the last for the Hawks who have yet to play a full season in their short history. Stewart was excited talking about the future of his program, bringing back all but one player from his 2021 team.

"This year was a rollercoaster," Stewart said. "It had its ups and downs, which every program goes through in their own way. The thing that excites me the most is that the system is in. Last year we had to figure out who we had and who we were and then that was cut short. This year with all the different battles that we had, keeping guys on the field and active, we didn't really get to see exactly who we were. The last couple games although they haven't gone our way, we started to find our identity for ourselves. It's not a sure thing, but it is going to get better if we continue to stay together and that's what I'm excited about. These guys have to do their part in the summer, being athlete and doing the right thing with their bodies and having a full non-traditional season should definitely help us out moving into the spring."

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