New Paltz, NY — The State University of New York at New Paltz rolled to its second-straight win on North Turf Field Wednesday, beating Bard College, 24-4.
 
The Hawks (2-1 overall) dominated throughout the game, getting out to a seven-goal lead in the first quarter and ultimately won every statistical category en route of a 20-point route, edging the Raptors in shots (41-17), shots on goal (29-16) turnovers (16-20), ground balls (15-6) and draw controls (20-14). The 24-point output also matched the most ever in program history, tying the total set in a 24-10 win over Eastern Connecticut State and 24-7 victory over Fredonia back in 2019.
 
"We really tried to focus more on shooting and our intensity," said SUNY New Paltz freshman attacker Lexi Atwater. "We really focused a lot on that I think that showed today, scoring 24 goals. We also worked on transitions, which looked really pretty today."
 
Kaitlyn Shaw, coming off a career seven-goal performance in the Hawks' win over St. Joseph's-Long Island Monday, picked up where she left off and tallied her team's first two goals first on an assist by freshman Julia Longo two minutes into the game. Shaw's opening two goals sparked a 7-0 run in the following six minutes before the Raptors put away their first score with just more than five minutes remaining in the period. Atwater added on two minutes later with Mia Baldinger concluding the period with a man-down free position goal in the final seconds to bring the Hawks' lead to 9-2.
 
 
SUNY New Paltz scored eight unanswered in the second with Ava Cronin officially giving the Hawks a running clock after scoring her first collegiate goal of her career. She quickly tacked onto the stat sheet soon after, following a draw control win by Atwater, feeding a cutting Atwater in a settled set to boost the lead to 13-2. Junior transfer Emily Monroe then went off for three-straight goals, beginning with her first goal as a Hawk with 10 minutes to go, then adding another unassisted score three minutes later and following up with a rip off a feed from Camryn Ryder to bring the cushion to 16-2.
 
The Hawks began the second half with eight straight goals before Bard found the back of the net one last time in the waning minutes to solidify the 24-4 outcome, which in turn became the biggest margin of victory for SUNY New Paltz in program history.    
The win was extra special for Atwater, as she and her twin sister, Morgan, who finished with a goal an assist, the latter coming on a feed to her sister Lexi, her second assist and her sister's eighth goal of the season, with the two celebrating their birthday as well.
 
"We were really excited to come play today and hoping for a win on our birthday, and it just felt great to get that last goal from my twin sister who is always looking for me when I cut," Lexi Atwater said. "She's always feeding the perfect passes and it felt really good."
 
Shaw led the team with five goals and two assists for a game-high seven points, while adding four ground balls, two caused turnovers and four draw controls. Atwater followed with a career-high four goals, while adding two ground balls and two draw controls. Julia Longo finished with four goals and one assist for five points on the day, adding two ground balls. Baldinger picked up a game-high five ground balls to go along with two goals, a caused turnover and two draw controls. Shannon Brosnan also lit up the stat sheet, finishing with a game-high seven ground balls to go along with four draw controls, one caused turnover, three assists and one goal.
 
SUNY New Paltz is back in action Saturday, going on the road to face Hood College at 3 p.m.

Game Highlights and Post-Game Featuring Lexi Atwater


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