New Paltz, NY — The State University of New York at New Paltz held its home opener Thursday on North Turf Field against Ramapo College and held off the visiting Roadrunners to earn a 1-0 win to cement its first victory of the season.
 
The Hawks (1-0 overall) had good moments, but their youth showed throughout the game as Ramapo earned seven of their nine penalty corners in the second half and held possession within the hosts defensive end for a bulk of the third and fourth quarters. However, SUNY New Paltz's defense came through to hold off any scoring attempts in front of net long enough to get out in front in the final minutes of the fourth quarter.
 
"I think we started out a little bit nervous," said Hawks freshman forward Miranda Britton who put-away her first collegiate goal to give her team the 1-0 win. "Some of the play was a little bit rushed, a little bit frantic, but I feel like that's just first game jitters. We got all the nerves out but by the end of the game and got everything together, and we put a goal in."
 
SUNY New Paltz held the advantage in the first half, holding a 6-2 advantage on corners while both teams got off six shots apiece within the first 30 minutes, even though two of those chances came with the Hawks playing a pair down after Julia Cummings and Hannah Ackerman were hit with back-to-back green cards. The defense managed, however, without giving up any good looks on freshman goalie Davin Testo. As soon as SUNY New Paltz got to full strength, it transitioned the opposite way with Ackerman helping her team earn a corner on the other end. The attempt that followed was the best of the half for either team, as Britton played in Ackerman at the top of the circle whose shot went just wide of cage.
 
 
Early on in the third, the Hawks narrowly earned a goal advantage. With the Hawks holding numbers on the counter, Shannon Bernhardt played a dangerous pass in front of goal with Natasia Plunkett there to tap in the goal, but the whistle sounded prior to the attempt, taking away the would-have-been goal and giving SUNY New Paltz a corner instead.
 
Ramapo started gaining momentum toward the end of the third quarter and had its best scoring chance with four minutes left in the third. Off a corner, Madeline Meyer got her stick in front of a shot attempt before Cummings blocked a shot in the circle on the deflection with the Hawks finally able to clear.
 
The Roadrunners took advantage of turnovers on SUNY New Paltz's offensive end with the Hawks doing a good job in space, but unable to connect a pass inside their 25, which led to a quick transition resulting in a corner for the Roadrunners.  
"I felt like today we were just playing without composure, and you can tell on the field throughout how we're not making connected passes and we're seeing the space, but we're feeding it to the defense," said Hawks coach Shanna Szablinski. "I think experience is going to make a difference and the more that we're in these situations, the better we'll be. Fourth quarter was tough, but Ramapo really started having some great opportunities and I think our defense really held strong, then we found a moment where we could capitalize on an opportunity, and it was good. I'm hoping that momentum is something that we continue to take forward. We have a lot of work to do."
 
Ramapo held possession in its offensive half for nearly three minutes before SUNY New Paltz moved the ball toward its scoring end, but finally capitalized once clearing the ball down field. Ackerman hit a pass into the circle, which was tipped in front of goal by Amanda Quenneville past Roadrunners goalie Michelle Kukan with Britton there to clean up and give her team the 1-0 lead with less than seven minutes left in the game.
 
The goal was the first for the Sayville, NY native who earned the start in the season opener at forward.
 
"When I saw the ball come from the side in, Amanda tipped it over to me and I saw it in front of my feet and it looked like it was going to roll in, but everyone tells you when it's rolling in, slam it in anyway just in case and then just turning around and seeing everyone jump up and get so excited it was just an unreal feeling in your first collegiate game," Britton said.
 
The Hawks played down for another two minutes with four minutes left in the game. Ramapo pulled Kukan to add a two-man advantage with the time remaining, but again, SUNY New Paltz defense led by Testo stepped up to hold the shutout and maintain the ball long enough to stimy the Roadrunners attack and solidify the win.
 
"I think it really shows that this team has true heart and a deep connection, and our composure showed at the end," Britton said. "We might've started a bit slow, but towards the end of the game we all brought it back in, we figured out what we needed to do and we got it all together."
 
Each team tallied 13 shots with SUNY New Paltz holding the advantage in corners, 12-9. Testo finished with five saves while Ackerman and Madeline Meyer each recorded a defensive save for the Hawks. Kukan ended with three stops for Ramapo.
 
SUNY New Paltz took the win but are looking to improve from its opener as its enters the Oneonta Tournament this weekend where it'll face St. Lawrence University and Utica College Saturday and Sunday, respectively.
 
"They're not satisfied and from a coaching perspective, that's something really good," Szablinski said. "They had moments where they were proud of, but also know that there's a lot we need to continue to hone in on and take care of. I think that kind of speaks to their standard and the upperclassmen really instilling that within our younger players. It's good to see."

The Hawks' next matchup is set for Saturday against the Saints in Oneonta, NY at 2 p.m.

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