Buffalo State, NY — For the third time in the last six seasons, the State University of New York New Paltz finds itself in a SUNYAC Semifinal.

On Wednesday, the No. 5 seeded Hawks will make the long trip North to Buffalo to face the top seeded Bengals. SUNY New Paltz solidified its spot in the second round of the conference tournament after upsetting No. 4 seed Plattsburgh on its home turf Saturday. The win marked the first playoff victory for the program since 2012, doing so in dramatic fashion after going through 110 minutes of action before a penalty shootout determined the winner following a 2-2 stalemate. The Hawks won on PKs, 5-3 ending the Cardinals season and avenging their regular season loss, along with a loss two seasons ago in the quarterfinal round where the then 3 seed SUNY New Paltz lost to No. 6 Plattsburgh on South Turf Field.
 
Turning around to make another postseason trip, the Hawks (9-7-2 overall, 5-3-1) already proved they are up for the challenge against a talented Buffalo State squad. The two teams last faced off three weeks ago on South Turf Field with SUNY New Paltz handing the Bengals their first loss of the season.
 
Freshman Ryan Zindler was the catalyst in the regular season win over Buffalo State, using his speed to expose the Bengals on the left side. He scored the game-winner in the 68th minute with him assisting on the second goal a minute later to solidify the 2-0 win. It was the first time Buffalo State was shutout all season.
 
The Bengals went into the game at 12-0-1 and perfect in the SUNYAC. They finished the season 14-1-3 overall, 7-1-1 SUNYAC after that loss to clinch the top seed.
 
 
Buffalo State leads the conference in goals per game, totaling 50 on the season while averaging 2.78 goals per game. It is led by junior forward Diego Rivera who has a team-leading 37 points on the year, netting a team-high 15 goals with seven assists including four game-winners. He's followed by senior midfielder Manu Prieto who has 33 points, scoring nine goals and adding a team-leading 15 assists. Senior forward Adam Webster is the team's next closest point-getter, netting nine goals on the season.  
Defensively, the Bengals have allowed less than a goal per game, conceding just 16 goals all season on 162 shots, while letting up a mere nine shots against per game. They are led in goal by senior Shae Wirt who has started all 18 games. He's allowed an average of .90 goals-against with a .795 save percentage on 151 shots faced to go along with nine shutouts.
 
SUNY New Paltz has the opportunity to enact some more revenge Wednesday by going on the road and eliminating Buffalo State from playoff contention. The Bengals ended the Hawks postseason hopes on the road last season, 1-0 in the quarterfinal round, but SUNY New Paltz is looking to double-down on the upset alert.
 
The team has scored 24 goals on the year, averaging 1.33 goals-per-game on 13 shots a contest. The Hawks defense have been stingy though, allowing just 17 goals against for a .94 goals-against-average. Christian Micheli is having his best season in his final stint as a senior, tallying 65 saves with a save percentage of .793 — already a season-high in the former category — to go along with five individual shutouts on the season on 166 shots faced.
 
In front of him is a solid backline of Samuel Snider, Alberto Molina, Owen McGarrity and Ryan Bochenski, as the quartet have started all 18 games (minus one for Molina), and are all in the top five of minutes played this season. Offensively, SUNY New Paltz is led by two freshmen forwards in Brandon Dhanoolal and Bryan Lizama. The duo has generated 27 of the team's 68 points on the year with Dhanoolal tallying eight goals with on assist and Lizama recording five goals. However, the most vital player on the pitch for SUNY New Paltz is junior midfielder Alex Wyant. The Beacon, NY native has logged 1,435 minutes this season and tallied four goals on the year, including the equalizer Saturday against Plattsburgh.
 
A win over Buffalo State Wednesday would clinch the Hawks their first SUNYAC Finals appearance since winning it all in 1965. They hope to make history and set up a re-match against either perennial foes No. 2 seed Oneonta or No. 3 seed Cortland Saturday with the highest seed remaining playing host.
 
SUNY New Paltz is set to face Buffalo State Wednesday at Coyer Field at 1 p.m.


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