OSWEGO, NY – The State University of New York at New Paltz women's lacrosse team put up a valiant effort Saturday against the Oswego State Lakers, losing a close contest 9-8 that went down to the wire. 
 
Down by two goals with 11:59 remaining in the game, Kaitlyn Shaw's two scores in the fourth, which accounted for two of her game-leading four on the day, gave her team a shot at the end, but the Lakers did a good job late in the game defensively to stave off what would have been a major comeback. 
 
The home team got off to a hot start in the contest, wasting little time as Logan Castiglione scored just five minutes and five seconds into the game. Following up her goal was Julia Quirk, her first of two on the day, just two minutes and two seconds later. Both goals provided the only scores of the opening quarter, with Oswego State for the most part controlling the action. In the opening frame, they had nine shots to the Hawks' two, with three shots on goal and took a 2-0 lead after one. 
 
The Lakers added to their advantage just eight seconds into the second quarter, when Madison Davis found the back of the net to make the count 3-0, which was the first of her three scores. Not to be outdone though was SUNY New Paltz's Alyssa Indelicato, who notched a goal with 10:28 on the clock to put her team on the board. Davis, however, struck again just moments later, giving Oswego State a 4-1 advantage. Katie Zito, the Hawks' leading goal scorer on the year, cut the deficit in half, scoring her 27th of the season with 7:24 on the clock in the second, and less than three minutes later, Shannon Brosnan got SUNY New Paltz within one at 4-3. 
The visitors' momentum continued, with Shaw finding the back of the net with 2:50 on the clock, to tie the game in a contest that previously looked as though it was going to get away from the Hawks. The Lakers' Shae McConnell made up for Shaw's goal, however, just 48 seconds later to give the Oswego State a 5-4 lead going into half. At halftime, SUNY New Paltz had eight shots, connecting on four of them for a 50 percent success rate. 
 
The second half got off to a slower start for both sides, with neither able to find the net in the opening seven minutes, a stark contrast to the first two quarters. Before long, McConnell scored her second goal of the day with 7:11 on the clock to make the count 6-4. The Hawks, however, continued to stick around, with Zito also scoring her second of the day with 3:12 remaining in the third. SUNY New Paltz goaltender Hailey Aber made a big stop at the last second in the quarter to allow the Hawks to stay within one, as the score remained 6-5 going into the final frame. At the end of the three quarters, SUNY New Paltz had 14 shots total with 13 on goal, while the Lakers had 23 shots with 14 on goal. 
 
Then came the fourth quarter, an exciting 15 minutes that produced a flurry of goals that made the contest tense down the stretch. 
 
Quirk opened the fourth quarter with her final goal of the game, just 42 seconds in, that gave Oswego State a two-goal cushion once again. The back and forth continued with Shaw finding the back of the net just one minute and 18 seconds later to get the Hawks within one goal at 7-6. At the 11:59 mark, the Lakers' Davis put home her third goal of the contest, and SUNY New Paltz trailed 8-6. McConnell added another seconds later, also her third goal of the afternoon like her teammate Davis, to give Oswego State a 9-6 advantage. 
 
Down by three, the Hawks tightened up their defense, scrambling well on the back end with Aber making some good saves. On the offensive side, Shaw utilized a great spin move to free herself from a Laker defender before rifling one into the back of the net for her third goal of the game. Just one minute and thirty seconds later, Shaw registered her game-leading fourth score of the contest cutting the lead to one at 9-8. 
 
"Kaitlyn Shaw stepped up in the last quarter," SUNY New Paltz coach Randy Vite said of her sophomore's efforts.  
 
In the final seconds, the Hawks had possession deep in Oswego State territory, but stingy defense from the home team was enough to hold off SUNY New Paltz, forcing them into a shot clock violation and ending the game with the one goal margin. 
 
"Overall, that was a pretty disappointing result," said Vite of the contest. "Grace Berardi got the start today on defense and played really well. I think we did well defensively but struggled on the attacking end." 
 
With the loss, the Hawks dropped to 3-6 overall and 1-3 in the SUNYAC, while the Lakers improved to 3-8 overall and 2-2 in the conference. SUNY New Paltz registered 20 total shots, nine fewer than the home team, while their 18 shots on goal were one more than Oswego State. Shaw's four goals gave her a team-leading 28 on the season. Indelicato produced a team-high two assists. For the home squad, Davis and McConnell led with three goals apiece. 
 
"This was a largely anticipated game and the moment got the best of us," Vite concluded. "We need to improve our decision making and shooting if we want to run with Cortland."
 
The Hawks take the field again on Wednesday against a Red Dragon team that has a perfect 3-0 SUNYAC record and an overall record of 6-4. The game, on the road in Cortland, NY, is at 4 p.m.

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