New Paltz, NY — With the score tied and the game on the line against a conference opponent, Hawks freshman midfielder Morgan Atwater stepped up when her team needed her the most.
 
With time ticking down on the shot clock, the Brighton, NY native had the ball in her stick and needed to make a play. She worked the crease and powered her way past her defender, beating her to her right and drove to cage, bouncing a low shot weak side corner past visiting Plattsburgh State's goalie in what turned into the game-winner with five minutes remaining in the game. The goal was the fourth of the afternoon and second-straight for Atwater who was the X-factor in an 11-10 victory over the visiting Plattsburgh Cardinals Wednesday.
 
"She was our player of the game and to be honest, I was waiting for her moment since the second she stepped on the field for us this year," said Hawks coach Randy Vite. "I knew she was going to be a huge impact player for us and I think she's finding her groove, finding her confidence and finding the back of the net more importantly. She's been finding the shots, but she's finishing, and this was a huge game where I was putting the ball in her hands a lot and she was executing and stepping up."
 
Atwater set a new career-high in the win and was the catalyst SUNY New Paltz needed in a tight affair against a Plattsburgh team that had upset them last season on the road, 12-9. The Hawks didn't overlook a scrappy Cardinals team Wednesday afternoon on North Turf Field and instead grinded through a back-and-forth outing with Atwater stepping up offensively with Plattsburgh honed in on reining All-Region selection Kaitlyn Shaw.
 
 
"It was a big win," Atwater said. "One, because we lost to them last year and it's a great feeling to win in a close game to a team like that. And secondly, that win is going to put us in a [higher ranking] in the SUNYAC and that's big for us."
 
Maddie Gillis got the day started with her third goal of the season, which came off a caused turnover by Alyssa Indelicato off a ride, tipping a pass in transition with Gillis there to scoop up the ground ball resulting in another offensive opportunity for the Hawks. After Plattsburgh tied the score at 1-1 off a free position, SUNY New Paltz regained the lead with two minutes left in the period. Again, Indelicato was the beneficiary, getting a good check in on a ride to force another turnover. Shaw picked up the ensuing ground ball and the Hawks capitalized with a drive and finish by Atwater. Ella Malanga helped SUNY New Paltz to another goal, as the defender forced a turnover on a back check. The Hawks cleared and Mia Baldinger fed Indelicato for the score with 30 seconds left to up the lead to 3-1 entering the second quarter.
 
The Cardinals came out hot in the following 15 minutes and scored four unanswered goals to take a 5-3 advantage with just more than two minutes to go in the half. Shannon Brosnan won possession off the ensuing draw and Atwater put an end to the run, taking a feed from Gillis and rolling the crease for her second of the afternoon, trimming the deficit to 5-4 at the break.
SUNY New Paltz were rejuvenized to start the second half and immediately answered with a goal. Shaw won the opening draw and the Hawks worked their offense with Indelicato feeding Julia Longo for the score to tie the game at 5-all. Indelicato regained her team the lead, finishing on a pass from Gillis a minute later. Brosnan won another draw and the Hawks scored their third straight, with Shaw catching and finishing inside on an assist by Longo. Plattsburgh scored off a free position attempt with about 10:40 to play and then tied the game again after earning back-to-back free position attempts on shooting space calls. They backed up each shot and eventually capitalized with a score to knot the game at 7-7.
 
Another free position with three minutes to play allowed the Cardinals to take back the lead, but Brosnan made sure to create a stalemate entering the fourth scoring her seventh of the season with just more than a minute left.
 
Plattsburgh took advantage of another free position following a turnover by SUNY New Paltz on a shot clock violation and held a 9-8 advantage with 12 minutes to play in the fourth. Atwater came up with the ensuing draw control and Shaw drew a shooting space call to earn a free position attempt at center hash. The Cardinals' Johanna Malone made the stop, but SUNY New Paltz kept possession, which resulted in a Shaw goal off a feed from Brosnan to tie the game at 9.
 
Plattsburgh went ahead one last time, scoring immediately following a draw control win as it earned another free position, but Atwater again came up clutch with a draw control. The Hawks worked the clock down and ran through their offensive set with Brosnan drawing a defender and then finding Atwater cutting underneath on a nice feed inside with Atwater catching and firing for the game-tying score.
 
Baldinger came up with the ensuing draw, which led to an offensive set by SUNY New Paltz but Malone came up with the stop allowing the Cardinals a chance to take the lead once more. They earned back-to-back free position opportunities, but Hawks goalie Gabriella Tommaso came up huge on consecutive saves to keep the stalemate and getting her team up in transition. SUNY New Paltz cleared with about five minutes left and were patient with the ball. As time started waning, Atwater had the ball in her stick and stayed aggressive, as the Cardinals made the decision to keep her 1-v-1. Atwater took advantage of the matchup and muscled her way toward goal and buried her attempt to put her team up for good.
 
"That was so exciting," said Atwater of the game-winner. "Obviously the game is not over until the last whistle blows, but that definitely ensured the win for us."  
SUNY New Paltz anchored down defensively. Morgan Woolley forced a turnover on the defensive end with a check, picked up the ground ball and the Hawks cleared the other way. Brosnan was awarded a free position with about a minute left and fed Atwater who was cutting in from the bottom hash, but her attempt went just high with the Cardinals picking up possession. After a timeout, Plattsburgh attempted to clear the ball through the middle of the field but was met with heavy pressure from Gillis and was called for a ward to force a turnover. Gillis got the ball over the restraining line and SUNY New Paltz bled out the rest of the clock to solidify the win.

"Really exciting to be in a close game and execute in the end and come out with a big win," Vite said. "Especially losing to them last year, it really was a redemption game for us. We were up for the game and really excited about it. It was a big game moving forward in SUNYAC play."
 
Following Atwater offensively was Gillis and Brosnan with three points apiece, each having one goal and two assists. Brosnan totaled a team-high five draw controls, while Gillis added two ground balls. Indelicato also added three points on two goals and an assist, while adding a ground ball and a team-high three caused turnovers. Shaw ended with a pair of goals on six shots with a ground ball and draw control. Baldinger totaled four draw controls, an assist and a caused turnover. Tommaso finished with a career-high eight saves in the win.
 
SUNY New Paltz improved to 5-3 overall and 1-1 in the SUNYAC, while Plattsburgh dropped to 4-3 and 1-1, respectively.
 
"I think the difference was just keeping our heads up," Atwater said. "It was a very back-and-forth game… so just keeping our heads up and motivating each other on the field and off the field, on the sideline especially — sideline motivation is key for us — and basically just hyping each other up throughout the game."
 
The Hawks are back home Saturday, hosting Fredonia State at 11 a.m. on North Turf Field for another SUNYAC slate and their annual Green Out for Mental Health Awareness Game.

Post-Game Featuring Morgan Awater


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