Oneonta, NY — With playoff seeding and history on the line for the State University of New York at New Paltz Wednesday, all the Hawks needed was a stop and a score in the final seconds of a double overtime thriller against rival Oneonta.
 
The Red Dragons looked as though they would hold the final possession with seconds ticking down in extra time. They found an opening on a drive, but a double inside by a SUNY New Paltz defense that has been the backbone of the team all season, came up huge. Senior captain Alex Coyle and junior Morgan Woolley closed in forcing a turnover that was scooped up by senior captain Cayci Hill. The Hawks successfully cleared the other way and found the stick of freshman Morgan Atwater, who pushed in transition, drew a defender and fed one-more pass to a wide open Alyssa Indelicato cutting in front of cage. With three seconds to spare, Indelicato moved the goalie and placed her shot in the back of the net for the double overtime game-winning goal, finalizing a 14-13 outcome.
 
"I am so proud of how this team played today," said SUNY New Paltz coach Randy Vite. "We successfully weathered the storm of a back-and-forth game and came out on top. We have been talking a lot about starting and finishing each quarter with energy, which went really well today."  
The Hawks improved to 9-6 overall, marking the most wins in program history, and solidifies a winning season for the first time since they played a modified schedule in the COVID-19 plagued 2021 season. The victory also tied that 2021 team for the most conference wins in a single season and clinched the highest seed ever for the program as they earned the No. 5 spot in the SUNYAC Tournament, all while securing its longest winning streak over their Catskill Cup rival, with their third-straight victory against them.
 
"It's so nice to see the growth of the program and to see things coming together for us in the most important part of the season," said Vite.
 
The game saw four different lead changes with the score tied nine times. The two teams were knotted at seven at the half and at 10 heading into the final 15 minutes of regulation.
 
Julia Longo hit on a free position with 8:11 to go in the fourth that pushed the Hawks ahead, 12-11. SUNY New Paltz had a good defensive stand on Oneonta's ensuing possession, holding the hosts without a shot until giving up a free position with 11 seconds left on the shot clock. The Hawks closed out on the attempt, forcing the Red Dragons to kick the ball out but a shooting space call gave Oneonta another free position on the far hash with three seconds left, which was buried to tie the game at 12.
 
Kaitlyn Shaw came up with the ensuing draw and pushed down field, trying to feed Indelicato inside but was mishandled for a turnover. The Red Dragons cleared and pushed themselves on the break and immediately earned a free position at center hash, which was put away to give Oneonta a 13-12 lead with about six minutes to go with Vite immediately calling a timeout.
 
The Red Dragons won the ensuing draw, but the Hawks defense anchored down and forced a turnover with a tough pass inside that was batted down by Morgan Woolley for the caused turnover. SUNY New Paltz cleared and established possession on the offensive end. The Red Dragons narrowly forced a turnover on a batted pass, but Camryn Ryder picked up the pivotal ground ball to keep possession for her team. Shaw had a look at cage but went wide. The Hawks backed up the shot and had another look, resulting in a nice find by Shannon Brosnan to Atwater who ripped a shot top corner for the goal, knotting the game at 13.  
SUNY New Paltz milked a man-down situation with 2:55 left after Maddie Gillis was given a yellow on a swing to the head on a ride. Gabriella Tommaso made a stop off the Red Dragons first man-up attempt on goal with the Hawks clearing and eating the rest of the penalty.
 
The Red Dragons had an opportunity to win in regulation, as they had an attempt on goal with seconds remaining running on a fastbreak and catching the Hawks down in numbers. Their attempt hit the back of the net but was called back on a crease violation to keep the stalemate and forcing overtime.
 
Both teams had attempts at cage in the first overtime with Tommaso coming up with a final stop to end the first overtime. SUNY New Paltz had the first turn on offense after the two teams switched sides, but the shot by Shaw was saved and Oneonta cleared the other way for a chance on offense. The Red Dragons' Cassidy Moore saw an opening in the Hawks' zone, driving into the eight, but Coyle and Woolley quickly slid and doubled forcing a turnover with Hill coming up clutch with the ground ball. The team worked the ball up the field with the ball finding Atwater and then Indelicato who sealed the win for the win.
 
"Defense definitely came up with some huge stops today, which directly turned into goals," Vite said. "Especially in overtime, we played a couple really tough possessions of defense, which gave us multiple opportunities at net. That fastbreak goal was awesome to watch."
 
The game was even throughout, as SUNY New Paltz held the slight advantage on shots (36-33) with the Hawks cleaning up their turnovers, totaling 14 — their second lowest total all season and least in any SUNYAC game played this year — while Oneonta registered 18 turnovers. The Red Dragons were 14-for-15 on clears with SUNY New Paltz going 17-for-20. Oneonta had the advantage on the draw (17-15) and totaled 11 free positions to the Hawks' two but went 4-for-11 on attempts with SUNY New Paltz collecting 17 ground balls to their 15.
 
Atwater and Shaw were the catalysts offensively, totaling four goals and an assist apiece. Shaw added three draw controls to her stat line. Gillis and Brosnan each had a team-leading three assists with Gillis adding a goal, a team-leading three ground balls and a draw control, while Bronsan had two ground balls and team-best drive draw controls. Tomasso finished a solid day with a win and nine saves.
 
With the victory, the Hawks will face No. 4 seeded Brockport in the quarterfinal round Saturday — a re-match of last year's first round matchup with the Golden Eagles ending SUNY New Paltz's season with a score of 13-7.
 
"This gives us great momentum and confidence going into the weekend," Vite said. "It was so nice to see the team come together and grind out a win. We are excited to do the same thing again this weekend."

Indelicato Game-Winner (courtesy of Oneonta Athletics)

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