New Paltz, NY — The State University of New York at New Paltz field hockey team took to the field Saturday, defeating the St. John Fisher Cardinals 4-3, for the first time in program history. 

The Hawks (3-0 overall) walked onto the North Turf Field fired up for their home opener. Just more than a minute into the game, senior captain Jessica Ascenceo found the back of the net for the first time of the season, setting the pace for the strong 60 minutes of hockey that followed. 

The Cardinals replied fiercely on attack and kept the ball in their attacking circle, putting SUNY New Paltz senior goalie Mackenzie Mortimer to the test for the next 13 minutes. The relentless pressure resulted in the first goal for the St. John Fisher from graduate student, Bre Socker. 

"The first half we scored right off the bat and we had high energy from that, but slowly after [we] became complacent and lost thought and motivation of what we were trying to do...so [St. John Fisher] came in and was able to capitalize on their opportunities," said Mortimer.  
 

The Cardinals kept the intensity up going into quarter two and capitalized on goal with eight shots — the last resulting in a goal by freshman Emma Cooper. St. John Fisher's intensity on the front line challenged the Hawks defensively. Mortimer had several great saves to help SUNY New Paltz, but knew there were changes to be made at half time. 

"At half time we talked about getting into their circle, making hard pulls and then just shooting...We were going to focus on our game, not play their game, and we made the changes," said Mortimer. 

Hawks coach Shanna Szablinski brought her team back into focus at the half, reminding them of their goals going into the game, and told them the key components that needed work going into the second half. 

"When you play a dynamic team like St. John Fisher, we really have to be mindful of the space around us, constant pressure on the ball... moving together in layers, and anticipating the next pass," she said. "We needed to play with more urgency… attacking more of the critical scoring areas and keeping the ball out wide. The urgency created a lot of opportunities and quicker transitions for us and we had more opportunities in the circle to score and shoot and draw corners."

SUNY New Paltz took off at the beginning of quarter three with another early goal, three minutes in by junior forward Natasia Plunkett. This goal tied the score 2-2, but it wasn't long before before another goal by Cooper graced the back of the net, advancing the Cardinals again, 3-2. 

This reply from St. John Fisher was what the Hawks needed to turn up the intensity. For the remaining 10 minutes of the third quarter, they dominated their attacking 50 with seven shots and five penalty corners to opposing St. John Fisher's one shot. The relentless pressure in the circle gave SUNY New Paltz the opportunity to tie up the score with a goal by sophomore Morgan Woolley.

The smart hockey didn't stop there. The new energy, soon propelled the Hawks into the lead with a beautiful goal into the right post by junior Julia Cummings, with 30 seconds left in the third quarter. 

"Fisher does do a good job of putting a lot back in the defensive end which makes it more challenging for us to actually move the ball,  but we ended up doing a really great job of finding feet and drawing corners… so that's something we really emphasized and executed today," said Szablinski. 

In the final 15 minutes of the game, SUNY New Paltz held the pressure and forced the Cardinals into their defensive end. One breakaway from St. John Fisher's Molly Fisher slipped past the Hawks defense three minutes into the final quarter, but a dynamic save by Mortimer denied the shot and kept the Hawks in the lead. 

For the remainder of the game, SUNY New Paltz played a great possession game. The Hawks controlled the pace and worked together as a unit across the three lines to secure the win.

Reflecting back on the 60 minutes, Mortimer was proud of how her team implemented the changes that needed to be made to come from behind and play smart and relentless hockey until the final buzzer. 

"I think it went really well for us. It was a great opportunity," she said. "We learned how to adapt to adversity and we also learned how to be very resilient when we are down."

Szablinksi was proud of the performance her team had today and is excited to see what the rest of the season has in store fot SUNY New Paltz.

"We are just really excited about the way we played and we look forward to keeping that momentum going into Wednesday," she said. 

The Hawks take on Skidmore College next, in Saratoga Springs, NY.

Mackenzie Mortimer Post-Game Interview

******************
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.