New Paltz, NY — The State University of New York at New Paltz concluded its home season slate Wednesday on South Turf Field and suffered a 22-12 loss to SUNY Oneonta.
 
SUNY New Paltz dropped to 5-9 overall and 1-5 in the SUNYAC and was officially eliminated from playoff contention with the defeat. The Hawks struggled throughout the game, as the Red Dragons held the advantage in shots (57-31), ground balls (34-21), faceoffs (27-10), while suffering less turnovers (24-19) with the visitors going 3-for-5 in man-up opportunities and the hosts, 0-for-2.
 
Oneonta took an 8-3 lead after the first quarter after scoring five-straight to end the period. The Hawks led once in the game, coming on back-to-back goals from Anthony Senecal and Aiden Jones within the first four minutes of the contest. Deacon Hill helped tie the score at 3-all, scoring off a feed from Nate Urban, taking advantage of a caused turnover on the defensive end by Colin Cleary. However, the last nine minutes were all Red Dragons, as SUNY New Paltz couldn't climb out of the hole from then on.
 
The Hawks got as close as three after scoring to start the second, thanks to consecutive goals by James Flanagan. The Red Dragons re-established a five-goal cushion before SUNY New Paltz showed some life midway through the quarter. A good defensive stand forcing a shot clock violation led to an Oneonta turnover with John Reese capitalizing on the other end with a score. Ryan Steinhart came through with a big stop in a man-down situation for the Hawks two minutes later, and after the penalty kill, Jones found the back of the net again off a feed from Ryan Scully. Ryan Kaelin forced a turnover following a faceoff win by the Red Dragons and Senecal took advantage on the following offensive set to close the gap, 11-9 with about five minutes to go.
 
 
The Red Dragons scored to create a 12-9 cushion at the break with neither team getting another to go in the final four minutes of the half.
 
Oneonta opened up the game in the third, going up by eight before Urban brought the difference down to 17-10 entering the fourth quarter. SUNY New Paltz's offense stalled there as the Red Dragons piled on, creating a 10-goal difference.
 
Ethan Scully led the way with four points (three goals, one assist) for the Hawks, while tallying a ground ball and caused turnover. Senecal followed with three points (two goals, one assist). Danny McLoughlin had a team-high six ground balls, while Zachary Leung registered a team-high two caused turnovers. Steinhart made 19 saves in the loss with freshman Dan Clark coming in to play the final eight-plus minutes and recorded one stop.
 
SUNY New Paltz's 2024 campaign concludes on the road on Saturday against top seeded SUNY Cortland at 1 p.m.


******************
To stay up to date with everything #NPHawks be sure to follow us on Twitter at @nphawks, Instagram and Facebook at @newpaltzhawks, and subscribe to our Youtube channel, New Paltz Hawks.