New Paltz, NY — The State University of New York at New Paltz were five minutes away of knocking off No. 7 nationally ranked Kean (8-1 overall) on North Turf Field Tuesday.
 
However, two defensive lapses in the 55th and 56th minute of the game was the difference after a solid outing that saw the Hawks battling against one of the best program's in the country, resulting in a 3-2 loss, just the second of the year for SUNY New Paltz.
 
"We have a lot to look forward to and when we continue to play with that level of intensity and purpose for 60 minutes. But, with two minutes left we can't have goals like that," said Hawks coach Shanna Szablinski. "We got sloppy with our decisions and we were turning the ball over once we worked really hard to win it. You can play a really great 55-57 minutes, but if you don't end with the last two, three, this is the result. There's a lot of promise and a lot of good things that we did, but at the end of the day we need to do better and as a coach I need to do better to make sure we figure out how to end the game strong."
 
SUNY New Paltz (5-2 overall) came out confident immediately as the whistle sounded and controlled possession for the majority of the first quarter. The Hawks' first good look on cage came in back-to-back sequences midway through the first, as Natasia Plunkett created a turnover as she re-defended inside the Cougars 50, then slid a pass through to Amanda Quenneville running on, creating a 1-v-1 with Kean goalie Jenna Flemings with Quenneville's attempt just wide, hitting the outside of the frame.
 
SUNY New Paltz kept the pressure on and didn't let the Cougars clear their defensive zone, leading to another chance for Quenneville who again missed goal by inches on a swing in front of net.
 
Kean responded with its best opportunity to take the opening lead in the final minutes of the quarter, as Davin Testo made the initial stop off her pads, but the rebound came bouncing in the middle of the goal to a wide-open Cougar who whiffed on the attempt to keep the game a zeros entering the second period.
Kean hung onto the momentum and out-shot the Hawks, 7-1 in the second period, with Testo along with junior back Sam Moran coming up big with saves to alleviate the pressure. The Cougars finally broke through though, as Peyton Mann scored her 11th goal of the season on a third-chance opportunity in front of net.
 
SUNY New Paltz didn't let the score swing momentum, however, as it worked the ball back down to its offensive end which led to a game-tying goal by Hannah Ackerman. Ackerman weaved her way inside the circle and ripped a shot to beat Flemings bottom corner for the score with six minutes to go in the half.

Kean narrowly took the lead once again with three minutes to go before the break, as the Cougars again buzzed around the net with the Hawks struggling to clear. Testo came up with a stop and Moran was there again to save another attempt headed into the goal before Kean found the back of the cage, but the goal was called back prior on a dangerous stick to keep the game at one goal apiece.

"I think we created enough opportunities to capitalize on," Szablinski said. "We missed a couple wide shots. We attacked well. I just think we struggled with transition out of our defensive 25 and that really hurt us in the long haul."
 
SUNY New Paltz came out hot to start the third and earned a corner in the first minute. The Hawks kept the pressure on and after a defensive stop, cleared the ball down field and found Natasia Plunkett who beat two defenders as she carried the ball into the circle and ripped a shot that sliced past Flemings for the go-ahead goal.
 
In a similar individual effort, Plunkett narrowly added on six minutes later. The play started on the defensive end, as Emily Brown did a good job of recovering against Kean's Ja'Carra Jackson, making the tackle and sending the ball down field to Rachel Tama, who worked her way down the sideline past a defender before playing the ball in to Plunkett. Plunkett dribbled past two Cougars to get an attempt at goal that just missed wide.
 
SUNY New Paltz carried the 2-1 lead into the fourth quarter and stymied Kean's attack for the first 10 minutes. The Hawks gave up four corners in the period but did a good job of keeping away anything too dangerous on goal. Tama was hit with a green card with about eight minutes left and defensively, the hosts managed the pressure and even narrowly got a man-down goal from Plunkett who finished the afternoon with three shots.
 
However, the Hawks couldn't close out with the Cougars continuing to possess inside their circle with SUNY New Paltz struggling to clear in the final five minutes. With four minutes left in the game, Kean put away the equalizer as Testo missed on a slide coming out on Jackson who slid a pass to Mann, unmarked for the tap-in goal. The Cougars scored almost immediately after in a similar play with Mann finding the back of the net for the game-winner.
 
"Today we talked about opportunities and how playing a team of Kean's caliber of nationally ranked was an opportunity for us to really showcase what we do well and that we are a really strong team," Szablinski said. "It was about us trying to capitalize on opportunities and remain positive even when things aren't going our way. They were a good team."
 
Kean out-shot the Hawks, 14-11 with all but two shots coming in the second and fourth quarters. The visitors also held the advantage on corners in the game, 10-3 — with eight awarded in the second and fourth quarters.
 
Mann led all scorers with eight shots, seven of which were on goal, scoring all three goals for Kean. Flemings finished with five saves, while Testo totaled six stops. Quenneville had a team-leading four shots, while Moran led the team with two defensive saves, followed by sophomore back Emily McGovern and graduate midfielder Shannon Bernhardt with one apiece.
 
SUNY New Paltz is back in SUNYAC action Saturday when it hosts The College at Brockport on North Turf Field at 1 p.m.

Hawks Field Hockey vs. No. 7 Kean Game Highlights


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