New Paltz, NY — The 2021 State University of New York at New Paltz field hockey team released its 2021 schedule Monday, as the team is seeking to improve upon a 2019 campaign that saw them go 10-8 with a trip to the conference semifinals.

The Hawks are two years removed from its fifth SUNYAC Championship, which they claimed in 2018. With 2020 canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, coach Shanna Szablinski set up a strong schedule as she returns a veteran group— including a bulk who was on the program's 2018 SUNYAC Championship winning roster — who are eyeing another run into the NCAA Tournament. 

The quest for the team's NCAA berth, along with SUNYAC title number six, begins Sept. 1 on the road in Montclair, NJ against Montclair State University. The Hawks will look to end a four-year drought against the Red Hawks, whom they haven't beaten since 2015 when they defeated the then No. 11 nationally ranked program, 2-1.

SUNY New Paltz then heads north to Canton for the St. Lawrence Invitational on Labor Day weekend where they will face Utica Sept. 4 and the hosting Saints the following day. The first big conference game for the Hawks is scheduled for Oct. 9 on the North Turf Field at 1 p.m., as they will battle rival SUNY Cortland who finished second in the SUNYAC in 2019 (16-4 overall record) and ended SUNY New Paltz's season in the conference semifinal. Two weeks later, the Hawks will go up against reigning conference champion SUNY Geneseo at home for a 2 p.m clash. The Knights posted a stellar 19-3 record in 2019 that included a perfect 6-0 conference record. SUNY New Paltz ends its five-game regular season conference schedule at home against SUNY Oneonta Oct. 26. 

Along with its opening non-conference games against the Red Hawks, Pioneers and Saints, SUNY New Paltz rounds out its non-conference schedule against perennial regionally ranked programs in St. John Fisher College, Vassar College and FDU-Florham with all those contests being held on the Hawks' North Turf Field. 

The SUNYAC Tournament begins Wednesday, Nov. 3 at the site of the conference's No. 1 and No. 2 seeds, with the championship game being held Saturday, Nov. 6 at the highest remaining seed. The NCAA DIII 2021 Field Hockey Championship is scheduled for Nov. 21 at Hendrix College in Conway, AR.   

To view the Hawks' full field hockey schedule, click here.
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