After a challenging six game non-conference schedule to open the season, the State University of New York at New Paltz begin its quest for its second appearance in the SUNYAC postseason tournament, opening at home Saturday at 1 pm against the Bears of Potsdam. Potsdam holds a 10-9 series lead over the Hawks; in last year's short season, SUNY New Paltz downed the Bears at Potsdam, 21-6.

"I think we're really excited to get back into SUNYAC games again," said Hawks junior defender Cayci Hill. "It's been a while. We have a lot of potential and these past few weeks we've been focusing on the little things and we've been building off of that. We had a little bit of a rough start in the beginning, but I think everyone has seen that we're growing and getting better each game. We're just excited to keep building on that."
 
Potsdam enters Saturday's game riding high on a three-game winning streak, defeating Morrisville 19-9 and Cazenovia 24-10 on the road and trouncing SUNY Poly, 23-1 in its home opener Thursday afternoon. The Bears two losses were heartbreakers, losing to Alfred 21-19 and Gordon, 16-15 in overtime during their spring trip to South Carolina.
 
Potsdam hit the 100 goals mark in Thursday's win over SUNY Poly, while limiting opponents to 57 goals. The Bears have totaled 163 shots on goal compared to 96 for opposing teams and have 104 ground balls versus 86 for their opponents, while registering 112 caused turnovers to just 74 turnovers themselves and winning the draw control battle thus far, 84-82.
 
 
Junior attack/midfield Hannah Stevenson (Canton, NY) tallied four goals against SUNY Poly, raising her season total to 21. She also leads the team with 16 assists and is second in draw controls with 18.  Junior attacker Anita Reitano (Averill Park, NY) also had four goals Thursday, pushing her total to 22 to lead the Bears, to go along with 10 assists on the season. Sophomore midfielder Lindsey LaDue (Massena, NY) follows with 17 goals and five assists for the season. 

First year attack/midfield Mallory Marks (Brownville, NY) has nine goals and a team-leading 20 draw controls. Senior goalkeeper Netta Terrance (Akwesasne, NY) has started all three Bears victories, giving up 11 goals with 10 saves. Additionally, senior goalies Rachel Orzal (Ballston Spa, NY) and Kara Sue Mulvaney (Carthage, NY) have seen significant minutes, giving up 43 goals with 58 saves between them.
 
The Hawks have not played since last Saturday's 11-10 loss to Nazareth College and through six games have scored 62 goals against, while allowing 70 for the opposition. SUNY New Paltz has totaled 140 shots on goal versus 166 for opposing teams, picked up 89 ground balls to its opponents 68 and have caused 57 turnovers.

Despite the 2-4 record, the Hawks have played some of their best lacrosse as of late and had one of their strongest performances against a talented Golden Eagles team. Defensively, they held Nazareth to just a 33 percent shooting average, while forcing them into 11 turnovers in the game.

"Nazareth was really exciting, holding a team like that until the last quarter," Hill said. "We were just focusing on really fronting our cutters and I think that was the best communication we've had all season, so we're just trying to build off that and be a strong defensive unit."
 
Leading SUNY New Paltz is senior attacker Katie Zito (Glenmont, NY) with 20 goals on 29 shots on goal, three assists and nine ground balls. Zito is two points away from matching 100 career points, joining just nine others in program history to reach that mark, an incredible feat considering her 2020 and 2021 campaigns were cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Sophomore midfielder Kaitlyn Shaw (Rye Brook, NY) follows Zito offensively with 16 goals on 32 shots on goal, four assists and 15 ground balls. Senior attack Maddy Carullo (River Dale, NJ) has 10 goals on 14 shots on goal with six ground balls and six caused turnovers. Junior midfielder Shannon Brosnan (Valhalla, NY) has five goals and six assists and a team leading seven ground balls. Freshman attacker Alyssa Indelicato (Selden, NY) leads the team with nine assists, while sophomore goalie Hailey Aber (Denville, NJ) has played every minute of every game for the Hawks and has yielded 70 goals with 62 saves.

Determined to make its second run at a postseason berth, the Hawks are excited to get conference play started Saturday against the Bears on North Turf Field.
 
"I think because we were so close to making the playoffs last season, we know that we're capable of it now and we're so hungry for it. I think that's one of our big motivating factors now that we're in this and we can't count ourselves out or anyone else in the SUNYAC," Hill said. "We know our capabilities when it comes to playing Potsdam, so I think we just need to come in focused, be consistent, communicate with each other and I think we'll be able to come out with a win on Saturday."

Potsdam Preview Featuring Cayci Hill



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