NEW PALTZ, NY – The State University of New York at New Paltz women's lacrosse team won their third consecutive game on Saturday in dominant 14-3 fashion on Senior Day over Buffalo State. The Hawks improved to 6-7 and improved their SUNYAC record above .500 at 4-3, while the Bengals dropped to 5-8 and just 1-6 in the conference with the loss. Kaitlyn Shaw, the conference's leading goal scorer, scored five goals for the sixth time this season, while Hailey Aber, second in the conference in save percentage, saved five shots.    
 
"Our offense was sharp today and we had many great opportunities," said SUNY New Paltz head coach Randy Vite of the win. "Defense has been a focus this week and our team defense has been looking a lot better."
 
Shaw and Katie Zito both scored two first quarter goals as the home team was dominant early, turning the tide on the Bengals quickly after the visiting team got on the board first.
 
Following Sarah Fineour's score just one minute and 38 seconds into the game, Maddie Gillis scored her 12th goal of the season, her first of four in the game, with 9:58 to go in the quarter to tie the contest. The score was the first of five goals in the opening quarter as the Hawks led 5-1 after one. 
 
In the second quarter, the home side kept things rolling, with Gillis putting away another goal, Shaw scoring her third of the game and Alyssa Indelicato finding the back of the net for her 14th goal with 11:42 to go in the first half as SUNY New Paltz opened up an 8-1 lead. The defense was great early, allowing just four total shots from Buffalo State. Late in the half, Indelicato scored once again with one minute to go in the half, giving her two goals in just the second frame alone. Shaw also scored once more with just 17 seconds remaining as the Hawks went into the half with a commanding 10-1 lead. 
 
Both teams went the first six minutes of the third quarter without scoring, but Camryn Ryder connected for her eighth goal of the year to put the home side up 11-1. Just over a minute later, Finehour put away her second goal of the contest on just the seventh shot for the Bengals. Gillis scored her third goal with 5:27 remaining in the third quarter to put SUNY New Paltz back up by 10, and the team took a 12-3 lead into the fourth after Julia Wachna scored for Buffalo State. 
 
Gillis added her fourth goal, and 15th of the year, with 6:42 to go in the game, and Shaw scored her fifth, and 46th of the season, moments later. It was the sixth time the sophomore has scored at least five goals in a game, and the second consecutive contest where she scored at least five, as she did on April 20 against SUNY Oneonta. 
 
"Kaitlyn Shaw is getting more and more confident and is hard to stop," said Vite. "She was in a faceguard most of the day today and was still able to get great looks at the cage." 
 
Fineour had the best game for the visiting side, with her two goals coming on just four shots, providing one third of Buffalo State's 12 shot total. She leads the Bengals with 27 goals on the season. 
 
The Hawks, improving their home record to 4-3 with the victory, will look to win their fourth straight game when they visit Plattsburgh State on Wednesday in their second-last game of 2022.
 
"It feels really good coming out on top in these recent conference games and we are looking to continue that next week," said Vite about the group's momentum going forward.
 
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