Coming on the heels of a fourth consecutive winning season and trip to the SUNYAC Tournament semifinals, the State University of New York field hockey team was honored with three players named to the annual All-SUNYAC squad, which was released by the conference office Thursday.
 
To view the full All SUNYAC Field Hockey Team, click here.
 
The Hawks earned two First-Team All-SUNYAC selections in Natasia Plunkett and Hannah Ackerman, with Plunkett being named as the SUNYAC Offensive Player of the Year, just the second in program history and first since Dani Ackerman in 2015. Senior Shannon Bernhardt was also honored on the All-SUNYAC Second Team after finishing her career with the Hawks this past fall.
 
Read more on each selection below:

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First Team:

Offensive Player of the Year:

Natasia Plunkett (senior, forward)
Holland Patent, NY/Holland Patent HS
 
Plunkett caps off an outstanding career with a stellar senior season. She led the Hawks to a 10-7 and 3-3 SUNYAC record with a fourth straight spot in the SUNYAC semifinal match and put-up career numbers in her last stint in orange and blue.

"Natasia is someone who consistently worked at getting better," said SUNY New Paltz coach Shanna Szablinski. "To see it all come to fruition in her senior year is what you hoped to see from a player that spends a lot of time on development. For me as a coach, I am really proud of Natasia for what she accomplished and how she was very determined to do so. It didn't happen because she said she wanted to be good, she put the time and energy into things. It was great to see that."
 
Plunkett's pick to First-Team All-SUNYAC was her third such selection in her career. To top that off, the two-time NFHCA All-North Atlantic choice was chosen as SUNYAC's 2022 Offensive Player of the Year. Plunkett is the second Hawk named Offensive Player of the Year; Dani Ackerman earned the title in the award's first year, 2015.

"She understood how to read the defense and exploit their weaknesses. There was a clip of just how quick she can turn the ball into someone's feet and that is an art as a player," Szablinski said. "I think that's something that takes time and experience but being able to recognize when to shoot versus when to find feet inside the circle is an art and she really executed that well. That's what made her the Attacking Player of the Year in my eyes. Just great decision making, take risks and the ability to understand the weakness of the defense and what you can achieve at that moment. That's what separated her."
 
Her eight goals in conference play, with a 1.33 goals-per-game average, topped the scoring column in the SUNYAC. Plunkett was also named the SUNYAC Field Hockey Player of the Week twice, on Sept. 14 and Oct. 3 after tallying six goals, an assist for 13 points and leading the team to victories over St. John Fisher College and The College at Brockport, and was a SUNYAC All-Tournament team selection.

Plunkett's 15 goals overall paced her team's offense and moved her to the number four position in single season scoring history, while her 33 total points moved her into the fifth all-time in the program's single season record books.

"What also makes Tasia, versus a lot of forwards that we come against, really deadly is because she does re-defend with vengeance," Szablinski said. "She can't actually play great defense where you see a lot of forwards lose possession, they give up on the ball, they walk, they take this long-lingering run to get to where they need to be — Tasia opens up the hips, drops and puts pressure on immediately. She knows how to tackle. She's won big plays for us in our press. She is also very savvy defensively, which you never really see forwards have both. I think that really inspired and taught our younger players the importance of second-effort and re-defending and that's something that she did exceptionally well."
 
The Holland Patent, NY native started all 17 games, playing 878 minutes. She scored three goals twice, against St. John Fisher and Brockport, and four goals against Morrisville. Four of her 15 goals were game winners. Overall, she had a .722 shot on goal percentage for the season and she finishes her career at SUNY New Paltz with 33 career goals, six assists and 72 points, ranking fifth in goals and eighth in points all-time in program history in just three seasons played.

"She's a force on the field. She's our beast. That's what we called her," Szablinski added. "She's scary and she is that player that will do whatever it takes to score. She's just extremely explosive and dynamic, and as a forward that's a deadly combination. Learning the skills to execute and making those decisions in the moment was something she developed over time. You can't teach her grittiness and aggressiveness, but you can definitely develop her as a player and that's a ticking time bomb in my eyes for just a phenomenal attacker. And, that's what she ended up doing."


Hannah Ackerman (junior, midfield)
Nesconset, NY/Smithtown East HS
 
Ackerman was named to the All-SUNYAC First Team for the second consecutive year after finishing her second season with the Hawks. Never missing a start in 17 games, Ackerman totaled 955 minutes of action, while scoring five goals with a team leading 10 assists after transitioning from forward to midfield this past season.

"Hannah's hockey IQ is just exceptional," Szablinski said. "To me she can play anywhere on the field. She is a true center mid because of her ability to handle the ball under pressure. She understands spacing, how to get out of pockets. She can defend, she can attack. I think her getting that first team all-conference is very deserving, but she's just a step ahead of the play and that's what makes her really successful, and she just doesn't give up. She's a really smooth player who understands how to get the ball where it needs to be."