Oneonta, NY — A loss and playoff hopes are shattered. A win and the pursuit of history continues — Deacon Hill made sure it was going to be the latter.
 
A back-and-forth overtime thriller between the State University of New York at New Paltz and rival SUNY Oneonta Wednesday had all the playoff atmosphere needed heading in and delivered until the end, as Hill made the highlight play of the day, stripping the Red Dragons, running down field, finding his opportunity and ripping a game-winner to push the Hawks to a 14-13 overtime win over the hosting Red Dragons to keep their first ever playoff hopes alive.
 
The win improved SUNY New Paltz to 7-6 overall, bumping them above .500 for the second time this season, a program best, while also improve them to 3-3 overall in the conference to keep in stride for the final spot in the postseason as they collected their first road SUNYAC victory and second-straight over their Catskill Cup rival.
 
"Almost isn't good enough," said Hawks coach Dylan Neisler. "If we lose on Saturday, yeah, we took a step forward, but we didn't do our job. That's how I feel about that. It's nice to be in the vicinity and in the conversation, but in the conversation isn't good enough."  
SUNY New Paltz's second line of offensive midfielders, Hill, James Flanagan and Colin Cleary were the difference in the game and had their presence felt early. Flanagan found Hill for a goal to push the Hawks ahead 4-3 at the end of the first quarter with Flanagan feeding Cleary to tie the game at five before closing out the first half with a score to push his team ahead, 6-5 at the break.
 
"[The win] doesn't happen without that second line of midfield – James Flanagan, Deacon Hill, Colin Cleary — they had it today," Neisler said. "For us, we've been preaching all year about depth and today it was our second line of midfield. If it wasn't for our second liners, we probably don't win today. Those guys had an amazing day. That second line of midfield dragged us out of the fire for sure."
 
The Hawks worked out of a 11-8 hole early in the fourth with John Reese and Thomas Armetta coming through with back-to-back goals and assists to trim the deficit to one. The Red Dragons answered with another score, but Aiden Jones worked the crease and finished on a pass from Reese top corner to get SUNY New Paltz within one once again at 12-11 with 10 minutes to go.
 
After Oneonta put away another, Flanagan came up big again with another score. With about six minutes left, Flanagan drove down the right side of the net, lost his defender and came back up on the question mark, finishing with his left for his second score of the day.
 
Ryan Steinhart, who finished with 16 saves in the game, didn't have his best day but down the stretch was pivotal in keeping the Hawks in the game. He had a great stop with 3:35 left, not biting on a Red Dragons pump fake and then getting the ball down field for a quick clear before Neisler called a timeout to come up with a play.
 
"What makes a goalie special is when he makes a save and when we needed a save, he came up with some big stops," Neisler said. "He might not of had his best day, but when we needed him, he came up for us and proved he's the best goalie in the conference and maybe even in the region. He made some huge saves for us down the stretch."
 
SUNY New Paltz found its next goal on a broken play with Flanagan again trying to work the right side of the crease but lost his balance and from his knees whipped a pass to an open John Reese who put away the attempt to tie the game at 13-all with just more than two minutes to go.  
Steinhart again came up clutch in the final minute, getting a stick on a long rip from the outside and covered the rebound before it dribbled past the goal line. The save was crucial in maintaining the tie with both teams holding the score at 13 to force overtime.
 
Oneonta won the opening faceoff of extra time, but SUNY New Paltz's defense dug in. The Red Dragons had a couple looks, but all went wide with the Hawks forcing a turnover on a shot clock violation. SUNY New Paltz cleared and immediately called a timeout to draw up a play. Reese had a look on a feed by Armetta out of the break, but couldn't get a good handle and the shot trickled to the net.
 
The Red Dragons got the ball out, but in pursuit was Hill who was determined to get the ball back on the ride. Putting pressure on Oneonta's Sam Haita in the midfield, Hill forced a turnover on a good check near the far restraining line, picked up the ground ball and cleared back the other way. Neisler and the rest of SUNY New Paltz's bench was calling cold, to slow the ball down and find a good look, but as everyone slowed so did the Red Dragons. Hill showed his field awareness and took the opportunity on Oneonta's lax defense, drove and fired a shot off stick side for the game-winning goal.
 
"I was saying cold, which means slow down — I'm proud of him and he deserved to stick that. Sometimes you don't have to listen to your coach," Neisler said.
 
Hill finished a career game with a career-high three goals, while adding a ground ball and a caused turnover. Flanagan led the way with five points on two goals and three assists. Cleary added two goals and a ground ball, while Reese finished with two goals and two assists.
 
The win or go home scenario continues for the Hawks as they head on the road to Brockport Saturday. The winner will clinch a spot in the SUNYAC Tournament, while the loser will see its 2023 season come to an end.
 
SUNY New Paltz is set to face the Golden Eagles on Huntley Parker Jr. Field at 1 p.m.

Deacon Hill Game-Winner


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