Since being shutout in its first loss of the season last week, the State University of New York at New Paltz field hockey team responded with two commanding road wins over the University of Rochester and RPI to lead into its first conference game of the year at The College at Brockport Saturday.
 
"Skidmore was definitely an eye-opener," said Hawks junior forward Natasia Plunkett. "No one ever wants to lose three nothing, especially a game that could have been very winnable, so we just wanted to make sure that we were emphasizing fixing the issues we had on defense and making sure we were creating more opportunities on attack."
 
SUNY New Paltz (5-1 overall) has been explosive offensively, out-shooting their opponents 124-60, while totaling 66 penalty corners and conceding just 31. Their lone loss of the year, coming in a 3-0 defeat at the hands of Skidmore Sept. 16, was a blimp on an otherwise impressive start. They hope to continue the trend against the Golden Eagles Saturday when they face SUNYAC opposition for the first time since 2019. 
"We're super stoked to get into conference play," Plunkett said. "Brockport is going to be great competition, so it's a great way to start it out. Everyone is just getting ready to get on the road and play a great game."
 
Plunkett, coming off an All-Region selection as a freshman, has been pivotal during the team's hot start. She currently leads all forwards for SUNY New Paltz with 319 minutes played and is tied for the Hawks lead in goals (5), paces the team in shots (33), while adding an assist on the year thus far. She and sophomores Morgan Woolley and Hannah Ackerman have formed a dominant forward line with the trio producing 28 of SUNY New Paltz's 52 points through its first six games.
 
"I think our attacking line has great chemistry," Plunkett said. "Woolley and I, Hannah, we do a great job of working the ball around and Morgan is great at creating corners and I think that is something that really helps us out on attack. We just need to make sure that we're taking shots from the top moving forward and that's something that we got to make sure we're emphasizing on Saturday, but I think we're doing a great job clicking and having chemistry up there on attack."
 
In their most recent win over the Engineers Wednesday, the Hawks did an excellent job on their press and made sure to keep the ball inside RPI's defensive half, winning the ball back on several occasions to create more scoring chances. That has been a focal point for SUNY New Paltz, which look to be active both in possession and winning back the ball.
 
"After the last few games, we really emphasized our press and our defensive approach," Plunkett said. "We want to make it more of a mindset, so we did a much better job of trapping in the trap zones and making sure that we were keeping the defense where we wanted them and immediately breaking out and working the ball up the line to make sure that we were getting opportunities on attack. Whether it was taking it up from the baseline or taking it right from the top and taking a shot."
 
Brockport enters its first SUNYAC contest as well and is 4-3 overall, coming off a 10-0 rout over Sage Sept. 18 before falling to Ithaca College on the road, 2-0. The Golden Eagles share just one common opponent to the Hawks — Utica College — with Brockport losing to the Pioneers, 4-2. SUNY New Paltz rolled to a 7-2 win over Utica Sept. 4.
 
As a team, the Golden Eagles are averaging about four goals per game and allowing less than two against. They're also out-shooting the opposition 133-79, but are giving up nearly 10 penalty corners per game.
 
Fifth year forward Katie Ziemba paces Brockport offensively, as she leads her team in goals (8), shots (29) and points (19) in seven starts. Emma Acevedo and Ella Buchanan have split time in goal for the Golden Eagles. Acevedo in four starts totaled 25 saves, while allowing 10 goals against in 240 minutes of action and compiled a 1-2 record. Buchanan in three starts recorded 180 minutes played and allowed three goals with 11 saves. The team is 3-0 with Buchanan in net.
 
The last time the two teams faced the Hawks came away with a 3-0 victory on Brockport's home turf. SUNY New Paltz has won the last 11 matchups against the Golden Eagles since 2009 and has allowed just seven goals against combined in those contests, while producing six shutouts in that span.
 
The Hawks are set to face Brockport Saturday at 11 a.m.

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