New Paltz, NY — The State University of New York at New Paltz women's lacrosse team took to the North Turf Field Wednesday to face off against the Farmingdale State Rams, earning its first victory of the season, 13-9.
The last time the Hawks met the Rams was during the 2020 season with SUNY New Paltz falling by a point, 14-13. Nearly two years later, the Hawks, led by first-year head coach Randy Vite, showed up energetic and confident. Despite an early set-back, they came from behind to earn the win.
"Super exciting first win," Vite said. "It's my first win as a head coach... They worked really hard. We've prepped for this all week, and it was awesome to come out on top."
From the start of the game, it took SUNY New Paltz some time to find its rhythm. The Hawks struggled to possess the ball early and Farmingdale took advantage early on, scoring in the first minute of the game and was able to find its second goal only two minutes later.
Luckily, SUNY New Paltz found the back of the net soon after off a free position shot taken by leading scorer of the game, sophomore midfielder Kaitlin Shaw, which was the first of a career-high five goal outing against the Rams.
Gallery: (3-2-2022) WLAX vs Farmingdale 3/2/2022
Farmingdale added one more on the board before the end of the first quarter. SUNY New Paltz senior forward Maddy Carullo and freshman midfielder Kira Tucker both found the back of the net to boost the Hawks forward, closing the gap between them and the Rams. Yet, the Rams stayed on top with another score to conclude the quarter with a 4-3 lead.
Though SUNY New Paltz was still behind, its effort to try and grasp the lead proved to upset the Rams. By changing their defensive approach early on, the Hawks had plenty of time to make the changes they needed to find the lead.
"Coming into the game, we had high pressure backer zone that did not go well in the first quarter," Vite said. "In the first 10 minutes so we changed to our man-to-man defense which boded us well throughout for making that change... Offensively, we wanted possession. So, we wanted to take our time and get quality looks at cage." 
The early possession boded well for the Hawks. A fast transition by Shannon Brosnan caught the Rams off guard and gave SUNY New Paltz the clear it needed to set up its attack and give Shaw her next opportunity on cage, tying the score at 5-5.
Following a timeout by the Rams, they regrouped and tacked on another goal before the half to take a 6-5 lead at the break.
"Keeping our composure and sticking to our game plan," was what the Hawks discussed heading into the second half said Vite.
And that they did. A solid defensive effort by SUNY New Paltz throughout the game gave the Hawks offensive the opportunity to find their cutters in the arc. With 8:22 left in the third, SUNY New Paltz gained its first lead of hte game thanks to a goal by Carullo.
The Hawks played with composure and speed. With three more goals before the end of the third quarter, two from senior attacker Katie Zito and another by Shaw, the hosts went into the fourth quarter with a three-point cushion at 11-8.
SUNY New Paltz did its best eating time off the clock on extended possessions and kept the Rams at arms-length in the final 15 minutes to secure the win.
"We weren't pushing the ball; we were slowing it down. We were taking time off the clock and again, making sure that we were, I say...we were looking for slam dunk goals only and making sure that we weren't forcing anything," said Vite. "I think coming into the game we were calm and composed we knew that this was a game that we could definitely win. Them scoring two goals at the beginning, it didn't stop us, didn't change our mentality. We knew that we could play, and we could beat them, and we just stuck to our game plan, and we got the win," said Shaw.
Shaw finished with five goals and an assist, registering career-high in not only goals but points in the victory, while added one ground ball. Carullo added three goals and was crucial on the Hawks ride, forcing three turnovers in the game. Zito finished with four goals and a team-high five ground balls.
"It feels great to have that in a win, to be able to contribute to the team and help get that win and even just to hype up my other teammates and see them score and get assists is a great feeling," Shaw said. "Confidence is a big key to us and just getting that win on our field today really is going to help boost our confidence even more on Saturday...we are hoping to get another win."
The Hawks hope to add on to their win total Saturday when they're back on the North Turf Field to host Hartwick at 1 p.m.
Post-Game Interview with Kaitlyn Shaw
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