New Paltz, NY — After an intense 90-minute battle, The State University of New York New Paltz came out on top over the Morrisville Mustangs, 3-2. With the win, the Hawks improve to 7-4-1 on the season, with a lossless conference record so far (3-0-1). 

Despite the Hawks having out-shot the Mustangs, 18-6 with 13 attempts on net, the game remained tight for the majority of the time and SUNY New Paltz only finished in front by one goal. 

In just the second minute of play, Brandon Dhanoolal got the Hawks started offensively, as his skilled footwork freed him up near the top right corner of the eight before he drilled the ball into the top left bin. Up 1-0, SUNY New Paltz slipped into a lull, as it could not produce any solid set pieces to add to Dhanoolal's goal. Morrisville took advantage of the Hawks lack of offensive movement, and began to push in the opposite direction.

In the 39th minute, the Mustangs got the opportunity they needed. After a foul was drawn, Morrisville lined up for a free kick, which was sent into the 18-yard box. The ball bounced around at the top of the box until it was lifted into the air, and a Mustang connected with the airborne opportunity and volleyed a shot into the left corner of the net. 

The Morrisville goal discouraged SUNY New Paltz for the last five minutes of the first, and the Hawks could not respond before halftime, where both teams entered in a 1-1 draw.   

SUNY New Paltz gained a second wind as they started into the second half. Both defensively and offensively, the Hawks play was night and day from the first half. And the increased quality paid off — especially in the 60th minute. 
 

At the start of the superb sequence, Riley Tait found Bryan Lizama near the net, and the sophomore crossed a pass into the box. Lizama came through and finished the ball in the left corner to secure SUNY New Paltz's second goal of the game and re-up his team's lead. 

In the following 20 minutes, the Hawks kept Morrisville to no shots on goal, and attempted seven shots for themselves — all unsuccessful. However, in the 80th minute, Dhanoolal came through once again. 

After possession went back to SUNY New Paltz after a Mustang throw-in, Dhanoolal got free once again and, unassisted, fired a shot to the right side of the net. The Hawks held a comfortable two-goal lead with 10 minutes to go in the match, but within the same minute of Dhanoolal's score, the Mustangs responded.

After a long ball was sent behind SUNY New Paltz's backline, a Morrisville forward ran through the service and tapped the ball into the back of the net, which cut the Hawks' lead back to one and swung the momentum in the Mustang's favor. Morrisville quickly reset for the next kickoff, and with only 10 minutes left of play, both teams were eager to come out with the win. Yet, SUNY New Paltz stood strong defensively and did not let the Mustangs get another free shot off. 

Dangerously, with only four seconds left on the clock, Morrisville earned a free kick a few yards outside of the box. Both teams waited on the opposite side of the field, the Hawks trying to clear and the Mustangs trying to score. However, the kick went too wide and SUNY New Paltz moved the ball upfield as the buzzer sounded to end the match, with the Hawks having earned the gritty 3-2 win. 

Dhanoolal was the main offensive catalyst, scoring two of the three SUNY New Paltz goals. The freshman has quickly made a name for himself in the stat books, scoring in six of the last eight games for the Hawks. Lizama followed with one goal for SUNY New Paltz and Tait earned an assist. Christian Micheli totaled two saves.

The Hawks take the long trip to SUNY Canton Saturday. They will face off against the Kangaroos at 1 p.m.

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