Canton, NY — The miss-leading scoreline Sunday didn't do the performance that was on display for the State University of New York at New Paltz field hockey team justice against hosting St. Lawrence University.
 
The Hawks, who improved to 2-0 on the season after handily defeating Utica College, 7-2, Saturday to open up the Saints Invitational, possessed the ball in the hosts defensive half for most of the game and out-shot their opposition, 14-2, while holding a 17-5 advantage in corners. Despite the ample opportunities, the game was decided by a single goal — which came off a corner from Julia Cummings to Hannah Ackerman who registered the essential game-winner in the, 1-0 victory.
 
"I am really happy with our opening weekend," said SUNY New Paltz coach Shanna Szablinski. "We have momentum moving forward and need to continue to cultivate a competitive environment, so we are ready for the next game."
 
Took the Hawks just a minute to earn their first corner of the game, which resulted in a ball played in front of goal met by a slew of players. SUNY New Paltz couldn't break through though and was given another corner, which St. Lawrence was able to clear without a shot on frame. The Hawks controlled the ball for most of the quarter, but the Saints earned their first real chance with less than a minute remaining in the period. St. Lawrence's Mary Clark found space inside the circle and fired a shot toward net, but SUNY New Paltz goalie Mackenzie Mortimer made a nice stop, diving out to clear the attempt away. The Saints earned an ensuing corner, but Mortimer again was there, this time with a foot save to preserve the stalemate at the end of the first 15 minutes.
 
The Hawks continued to press in the second, earning six corners in the quarter with Hannah Ackerman and Jamie Wagner both putting attempts on goal. St. Lawrence did well to defend and mitigated the opportunities. Morgan Woolley nearly helped SUNY New Paltz take the lead as the half winded down, chasing down a pass before crossing the end line, the sophomore earned another corner for her team with 30 seconds left. Cummings played the ball in to junior Jamie Wagner who lifted a shot that just missed the top corner of goal, going out of play. 
"We definitely had several opportunities to score and just couldn't execute," Szablinski said. "SLU did a great job packing in the circle defensively and their goalie made some key saves, [but] we stayed persistent and kept composure throughout the game. Our team possessed well and was patient making good decisions, which created opportunities to get into their circle." 

The Hawks finally capitalized five minutes into the second half. They earned consecutive corners and finished on the second attempt with Cummings playing the ball in to Ackerman who ripped a shot from the top of the circle that got through traffic to find the back of the net for the sophomore's first career goal.

SUNY New Paltz nearly added another in the final minute of the third quarter. Natasia Plunkett helped the Hawks to a corner, which was then played in from Cummings to sophomore Sam Moran. Moran lifted a beautiful ball toward goal with 5-foot, 1-inch Morgan Woolley there to get her stick up and tap the shot into the cage for what nearly was the highlight goal of the weekend, but the score was called off after deemed a dangerous play.
 
"Yes, that would have been a great goal, unfortunately it was deemed dangerous," Szablinski said. "That didn't stop our energy. We kept focused on finding ways to have positive outcomes in the circle and prevent SLU from successfully transitioning out of their back field."
 
The Saints didn't have many scoring chances in the second half and earned their first corner after the break five minutes into the fourth quarter. SUNY New Paltz defended well, however, with Kyra D'Amico making a nice tackle at the top of the box and battled to win the ball back and clear before St. Lawrence could put a shot on Mortimer.
 
St. Lawrence was awarded two more corners in the final five minutes of the game, but neither set piece resulted in a shot on goal with the Hawks defense holding strong to finish with the shutout.
 
The Saints, which defeated SUNY Oneonta Saturday, 5-1, dropped to 2-1 on the season after Sunday's loss.
 
Mortimer finished with two saves, while St. Lawrence goalie Cara Credenburg recorded 11 stops on the day. Ackerman led SUNY New Paltz with five shots, four of which were on goal, followed by Plunkett and Wagner, each with three.
 
The Hawks are back in action Saturday when they host St. John Fisher for their home opener on the North Turf Field at 2 p.m.

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