New Paltz, NY — Saturday's finale at South Turf Field was a game of milestones for the State University of New York at New Paltz.
 
The Hawks (6-6 overall) used a 10-0 run through the first two quarters and held off a late Potsdam run to earn a 14-12 win — the first ever over the program — while also improving to 2-3 in the SUNYAC surpassing the most wins in conference and senior attacker Thomas Armetta reached the 100-point mark on Senior Day.
 
"Potsdam has played us close the last two times and this was a game we were really excited about," Armetta said. "It's senior day and we really wanted this one, but Potsdam is a really good team. They played hard and I'm proud of the team effort. This was a big one for our team."
 
The Bears opened up with the first two goals of the game before the Hawks went off for a 10-0 run that carried them the rest of the way.
 
Armetta started the run, as he took advantage on a long offensive possession for SUNY New Paltz that totaled three shots before Armetta took it upon himself to create some space and rip an outside shot, which found the back of the cage for his team's first goal. Amretta then helped on the game-tying goal, forcing a turnover on an attempted clear by Potsdam, which led to a feed by Ethan Scully working around the crease to a cutting John Reese for the goal.
 
Aiden Jones gave SUNY New Paltz the lead a minute later on an unassisted score with Ryan Scully following three minutes after. James Flanagan helped the Hawks to their fifth goal, as he found a loose ball on the offensive zone, flipped the ground ball to Jones who then scored on a feed from Armetta on the extra possession.
 
 
The hustle plays continued for SUNY New Paltz with Ethan Scully harassing the Bears' Noah Strader down the field. He had one good check that forced a loose ball but was picked back up but kept with the play and checked the ball free again this time with the ball falling out of bounds for the turnover. SUNY New Paltz capitalized, as Flanagan assisted Jones for another score to give the hosts a 6-2 advantage at the end of the first.
 
Ryan Steinhart got his team going to start the second quarter, making a nice stop on a low shot to begin the period. He cleared the ball out quick, starting a slow break for the Hawks leading to a goal by Reese off a feed by Mason Pontrelli.
 
"I just think we really stayed calm and clearly we responded with a lot of goals," Steinhart said. "We just kept bleeding out possessions throughout the game and that's how we took the game."
 
SUNY New Paltz continued taking long possessions on the offensive end, backing up each shot. The extra opportunities led to its seventh goal, as Reese scored again on a dish by Flanagan forcing the Bears into a timeout, but the stoppage of play didn't slow down the Hawks. Defensive midfielder Aidan Gregory turned defense into offense as he forced a turnover on a good check and was rewarded down field with a rip off a feed by Zach Schmidt to boost the lead to 8-2 with 12 minutes to go in the half.

Reese capped the 10-0 run, scoring off an assist by Anthony Senecal with the Hawks patient working the ball around leading to the open look. However, Potsdam climbed back to create a tight game down the stretch.

The Bears started with a four-goal unanswered run for six minutes midway through the second quarter. Senecal put an end to the stretch with a score with just more than four minutes left to create an 11-6 cushion at halftime.
 
Consecutive goals to begin the third quarter cut the deficit to three for Potsdam. Ethan Scully forced another turnover in transition and Armetta took advantage with a goal to re-up the four-goal cushion. The score not only was pivotal to grab back momentum with the home crowed on their side, but also notched Armetta his monumental 100th career point.
 
Steinhart made a nice save on the Bears last offensive possession of the quarter and after a successful clear, SUNY New Paltz added another goal, as Reese fed Ryan Scully to push the lead to 13-8 heading into the final 15 minutes.
 
Potsdam scored a minute into the fourth, then added another with about 9:30 to go, creating a three-goal difference. Each team killed penalties in the following five minutes to keep the score stiff until Jones broke the draught with a goal off a feed from Armetta to create a pivotal four-goal cushion with three minutes left. The Bears answered off the ensuing faceoff and scored another with less than a minute to go but the Hawks defense anchored down.
 
The Bears won the opening faceoff and immediately called a timeout. They worked their play and had a look on cage with the attempt careening of the pipe and back in with Steinhart making a huge stop on the second attempt to seal the win.  
Steinhart made 20 saves with one ground ball and a caused turnover. Tim Russell had a standout performance as well, as the longpole finished with a team-high four ground balls and two caused turnovers and held Bears leading scorer to just four points on the day.
 
Armetta capped a memorable day at South Turf Field by leading his team with two goals and three assists with one ground ball and a caused turnover. Reese followed with four goals, an assist and a ground ball, while Jones added four goals. Ethan Scully finished with a team-high three caused turnovers with a ground ball and an assist.
 
The win keeps the Hawks playoff hopes alive as they have just two games left on the regular season coming on the road against SUNYAC opponents, SUNY Oneonta and SUNY Brockport. Their set to face the Red Dragons Wednesday at 4 p.m.  

Post-Game Featuring Thomas Armetta and Ryan Steinhart


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