Oswego, NY — The State University of New York at New Paltz came away with a 3-1 victory against the Lakers of Oswego State Saturday afternoon.
 
"We played very well today from the start," said Hawks coach Kyle Clancy. "Very confident on the ball and created some good early chances that ultimately led to us taking the lead. Defensively, we organized well and worked very hard for each other off the ball. I was impressed with our level of execution on both sides of the ball and could tell the guys were locked in today."
 
SUNY New Paltz (9-4-3 overall) headed to Oswego (5-8-2) for their final game of the regular season. Tim Kane started the day with a score off an assist from Owen McGarrity to give the Hawks a 1-0 lead in the 18th minute. Teammate Joseph DiPreta followed up with a goal coming in the 28th minute to quickly double the cushion.
 
However, before the half, Lakers Nikola Kovacevic got the hosts on the board off an assist from Brendan Murphy in the 35th minute.
 
SUNY New Paltz took its 2-1 lead into the half and looked like the more active team coming out in the second period. Kane came away with his second goal of the day coming off a pass from captain Spencer Ryczek. The Hawks were able to hold the Lakers to just two shots in the second half and went on to win 3-1 to cap off their impressive regular season.  
Kane had himself a day scoring two goals with one in each half. Thomas O'Neill followed with three shots — all three being on goal. Hawks goalkeeper Christian Michelli had another solid outing as he only allowed one score and saved three in his 90 minutes.
 
"Tim was strong up top and showed a good ability to finish in the box, but overall, the play was stellar from the entire front four and everyone who subbed on," Clancy said. "Our outside backs did a great job supporting the attack and [Hilliard], [Thomas O'Neill], Alex [Wyant] and David [Acker] were massive in the middle today. Just a great effort overall."
 
SUNY New Paltz, already solidifying its spot as the No. 3 seed in the SUNYAC Tournament, will host Plattsburgh State in the quarterfinal round Oct. 29 on South Turf Field. The Hawks defeated the Cardinals on the road earlier in the year, 1-0.
 
"You can see the level of confidence in the way they are playing and the belief they all have in themselves and each other," Clancy said. "They are up for whatever challenges comes their way. Plattsburgh is a good team that we have had some good battles with. It's an opportunity we are all excited for and we will work hard this week to be prepared come next Saturday."

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