The State University of New York at New Paltz enters a new era Wednesday, as newly hired Randy Vite begins her first season as the head of the Hawks women's lacrosse program.

Vite takes over from incumbent, Keith Detelj, who in four seasons, led the team to their first SUNYAC postseason berth (2019) and first winning season last year with the team finishing 5-3 in a shortened COVID-19 season.

Now the task of moving SUNY New Paltz's women's lacrosse program onward and upward falls on the experienced shoulders Vite, who comes into the role after serving as the lead assistant at the University of Chicago. Vite was a key cog in the rapid development of the Maroons inaugural women's lacrosse program. In just four years of existence, the team never had a losing season and in 2021 won the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin with an 11-2 record. With previous stops at Aurora College and the University of Colorado-Pueblo, the Kutztown University all-star brings a wealth of knowledge to New Paltz.

"This whole season has just been so exciting," Vite said. "Every single thing we do, from our first practice to our first scrimmage — I think the girls can really see the excitement in everything we do. I've just been endlessly happy to be at practice and be with them. It's going to be a season of firsts for me, and I think every single first is more exciting than the next." 
 

The first-year coach will find a team coming off its most successful overall and SUNYAC season ever. Five Hawks earned All-SUNYAC honors, the most ever in the program's short 18-year history. Success is now ingrained in the Hawks women's lacrosse psyche. On the other hand, with four of those all-conference players having graduated and eight seniors in total graduated, Vite might find herself in a rebuilding mold. Yet that shouldn't stand in the way of a coach who helped create a championship team at Chicago in just four seasons.

"I think our team culture and chemistry is awesome," Vite said. "They have been such a pleasure to coach. They come to practice every day with a positive attitude. They all are excited to be there. I can tell they are all such good friends, they all get along and are all so supportive of each other, so I definitely think team culture and chemistry is going to be a huge strength, and I think our natural athleticism. Everyone is fit, naturally athletic and just tying all of that together.
"Making playoffs is a goal," she continued. "Again, we're going to ride high off our natural athleticism and build on their success from the past couple years. I think they've been on a major upward trajectory, and they expect success now, which is awesome. They've had that experience of some big wins and competitive games, which I think is what we need to ride off of."

SUNY New Paltz return 12 players from 2021, all of whom contributed to last season's success. Leading the Hawks will be Second-Team All-SUNYAC midfielder Maddie Gillis (Levittown, NY). Gillis had eight goals and eight assists, while pacing the team with 14 ground balls and 14 caused turnovers in eight games. 

While it will be hard to replace graduated All-SUNYAC attackers Amy Hofer and Tara Bovich, Katie Zito (Glemont, NY) is back for her senior season and finished last year second on the team in goals (19), while adding five assists, and will be counted on to lead the Hawks attack. Joining her will be sophomore midfielder Kaitlyn Shaw (Rye Brook, NY) who ended last season with 13 goals and five assists, and senior Maddy Carullo (River Vale, NJ) who tallied 10 goals and seven assists in 2021. Filling out the attacking line are senior Viviana Scotti (Staten Island, NY), Kutztown University junior transfer Megan Kerr (Geneva, NY) and freshman Alyssa Indelicato (Selden, NY).

At midfield, in addition to Gillis, juniors Shannon Brosnan (Valhalla, NY) and Camryn Ryder (Central Islip, NY) will play a big role on both sides of the field. Brosnan added six goals, five assists and 30 draw control wins, which was third-most on the team in 2021, while Ryder added six goals in eight games. Joining them in the midfield rotation are sophomore transfer Gabby Gagliano (Centerport, NY) and freshman Kira Tucker (Halfmoon, NY).  

"Going into this year I think our strengths are going to be that we're such a new team, it's going to be hard to scout us, and even a new coach so we're going to have a lot of different plays and ideas coming onto the field," Zito said. "I'd say our biggest goal this year is making SUNYAC playoffs. Last year we just missed it and the last time we made it was my freshman year, so we've got a lot riding on this year."

Defensively, the Hawks graduated two Third-Team All-SUNYAC selections in Alexandria Galvez and Keydy Espinoza but bring back experience in juniors Alex Coyle (Center Moriches, NY) and Cayci Hill (Cortlandt Manor, NY), and sophomore Kate St. Lucia (Niskayuna, NY). Coyle didn't miss a start last season, while Hill and St. Lucia each started four of seven games played with the three combining for 22 caused turnovers and 14 ground balls.

The net will be tended by two returning Hawks, senior Lizz Braun (New City, NY) and sophomore Hailey Aber (Denville, NJ). Aber saw the most action in 2021, starting six of eight games with a 3-3 record. She gave up 85 goals and made 61 saves for the season.

"Katie Zito can catch anything inside and finish, which is huge. They all work well together," Vite said. "I think Kaitlyn Shaw is going to be a big driver from up top. Maddy has been awesome keeping the ball moving and being an awesome outlet pass, setting picks. She sets people up for success. I think Cam is waiting to explode a little bit. She has tons of potential and had a really good goal in our [preseason scrimmage] against Vassar. And I definitely think some first years are going to step up. Alyssa is going to be a good feeder from X and Kira has tons of potential on the draw and on the field. Shannon is a sneaky attacker I think, and Alex and Cayci defensively have been super strong."

SUNY New Paltz will play a 15-game slate for the first time since 2019, starting with its season opener Wednesday against Western Connecticut State, which earned a spot in the NCAA Tournament last season.
The Hawks played WestConn during their fall ball tournament and are looking forward for their regular season re-match on the North Turf. 

"We played [Western Connecticut] in our fall tournament and I think we're going to have a really good run against them," Coyle said. "We're going to come out super strong in transition. Our D is going to put a lot of pressure on them, and I think it should be a good turnout."

Five additional non-conference games follow, including three against Empire 8 members Nazareth, Hartwick and Utica, NJAC member Stockton, and 2021 Skyline Conference champion and undefeated Farmingdale State. SUNY New Paltz has its first away contest Sunday when they face Utica Sunday for a 1 p.m. game.

The Hawks begin their quest to return to the SUNYAC postseason playoffs March 26 at 1 p.m. against the Bears of Potsdam. All home games are played on the friendly confines of the North Turf Field. SUNY New Paltz is eyeing its second postseason appearance after coming up a game short last year in a condensed conference schedule.

"All of our juniors and all of our underclassmen have never even had an overnight before, so we're super excited to have a full season and finally being able to experience that with everyone," Coyle said. "We're super capable of making a SUNYAC playoff run. We graduated a lot of girls last year, but we got new freshmen in and transfers, and everyone is ready to go. We're super talented on both ends of the field, so we're just ready to get out there and show what we can do."

The Hawks are set to face WestConn for their season opener Wednesday on the North Turf Field at 3 p.m.

Hawks Women's Lacrosse Season Preview Featuring Katie Zito & Alex Coyle


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