The State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) announced its annual award winners Wednesday with SUNY New Paltz earning a record six All-SUNYAC selections, including the program's first ever Midfielder of the Year selection in senior Kaitlyn Shaw and Coaching Staff of the Year selection led by third-year head coach Randy Vite.

The Hawks completed their most exciting and successful season in their 26-year history of women's lacrosse. The 2024 campaign saw all existing women's lacrosse benchmarks broken: a 13-game winning streak to start the season; 14 wins overall, a new record; six SUNYAC wins, another first; four losses, another first; a third straight appearance in the SUNAYC tournament; a first ever SUNYAC tournament win and a spot in the SUNYAC semifinals to go along with a host of new team records, including: most goals (260), most assists (160), most points (420), least goals allowed (126), best goals for/against average (31.6/17.7), most ground balls (370), most caused turnovers (224), most draw controls (261), best clearing percentage (.818), best goals against percentage (7.97) — to name a few. And, among the top categories, the six that were selected to this year's all-conference list led the way with each pick returning to build off an illustrious 2024.

"I think this year set such a great foundation for things that we can achieve moving forward and bringing them all back is going to be huge," said SUNY New Paltz coach Randy Vite. "I mean we're returning most of our starting lineup is going to be huge, and we're definitely adding depth which is exciting. I hope that they can continue setting the tone moving forward for everything that we can achieve. We definitely proved it this year."

To view the full All-SUNYAC team, click here.

Read more about each Hawk selection below:
 

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All-SUNYAC First-Team/SUNYAC Midfielder of the Year

Kaitlyn Shaw (senior midfield)
Rye Brook, NY/Blind Brook HS

Senior Kaitlyn Shaw apparently was not satisfied with her All-SUNYAC Second Team selection in 2023, after becoming the program's first ever, First-Team All-SUNYAC and IWLCA All-Region picks in her sophomore season. So, she amped up her game to have a season to remember in 2024, breaking every Hawks women's lacrosse season and career offensive record while being the consummate team leader and captain, championing the most historic season and setting an example and foundation for her young team.

"Kaitlyn on and off the field was unbelievable," Vite said. "I think she by far had the best lacrosse season of her career, but off the field, she was one of the most incredible leaders that I have ever had the opportunity to coach. This year was a huge emphasis on our culture and where I want New Paltz Women's Lacrosse to go and to be, and I absolutely couldn't have done it without her leadership on and off the field."

Starting 18 of 18 games and all nine SUNYAC matches, Shaw scored a total of 70 goals, the most of any SUNYAC player in 2024. Her 96 points and 148 shots also topped all SUNYAC players.
In SUNYAC play, Shaw started all nine conference games, tallying 28 goals with a .794 shots-on-goals percentage. She contributed 11 assists, totaling a team high 39 points. She added 23 ground balls, 10 caused turnovers, and 32 draw controls, with one game winning goal.

"She's so athletic, she's so smart. This year was where I saw a huge maturity growth in her, just being able to manage game situations. I think that's a real next level player is being able to understand the flow of the game," Vite said. "There were times where she was calling things before I even called them — just her IQ and her ability to control big moments was really important."

Shaw crushed her own personal best records, while etching her name in nearly every single season, single game and career offensive category. She broke her own single season goals record for the third straight season, finishing with 70 on the year, for a four-year total of 185 — most in program history. She improved her game, becoming one of the best passers in the league as she finished with a career-high 26 assists to total 96 points on the year — the latter a program best, which helped push her to the top of the team's all-time points mark, totaling 238 thus far through three-plus seasons.

"End of the season last year I told her, her next level was being able to keep her head up and feed as well and you could see that she absolutely did that," Vite said. "She worked super hard on it and definitely keeping her eyes up was a big focus this year. She did a great job."

Adding to her offensive totals, Shaw had a .818 shot-on-goal percentage with four game winning goals. She added 43 ground balls, 14 caused turnovers, and 66 draw controls. She set a single-game goals scored mark with nine against Fredonia, while scoring six goals twice, five goals three times, four goals twice and three goals four times on the season. She was 13-for-15 on shots/shots on goals against Fredonia, and had season highs of four assists versus SUNY Maritime, 12 points against Manhattanville, two caused turnovers and six ground balls versus Geneseo and eight draw controls against Oneonta.

Shaw was named to a record setting five SUNYAC Women's Lacrosse Athlete of the Week awards in 2024, but more importantly, she galvanized a 22-man roster that featured 16 underclassmen on the roster, including eight in the starting lineup, helping set the foundation of one of the best programs in the region.

"She cares so much about lacrosse at New Paltz and this program, and she was completely bought in to our mission, our vision, everything we were doing and wanted to do. Her support was unwavering," Vite added. "Having a younger squad and younger major impact players, Kaitlyn was huge. Again, she leads by example. She's constantly doing the right thing… and she's also not sacred of holding people accountable and communicate expectations. I think she's done a great job with her relationship with everyone on the field, and also just being able to hold the standard that we want to hold."
 

All-SUNYAC First Team

Morgan Woolley (senior, defense)
Blue Point, NY/Bayport-Blue Point HS

Morgan Woolley earned her first All-SUNYAC women's lacrosse selection in just her second season of collegiate lacrosse. Recruited to play for New Paltz's outstanding field hockey program, where she earned All SUNYAC Second Team honors as a forward/midfielder in 2023, Woolley returned to lacrosse last season and has made a significant contribution to the Hawk's lacrosse success the past two seasons.

"I think her confidence," said Vite of what allowed Woolley's ascension to one of the best defenders in the conference. "By the end of last year she was seeing so much more time and finding so much more success that going into this year, she just didn't skip a beat. I think she is a really, really smart athlete. She asks really great questions, and is constantly learning and growing, asking why we're doing certain things or why this works or what she should do in certain situations. I really think her brain is what got her to the next level. And she's just so naturally athletic. She's just been so fun to coach because she soaks in everything you say and applying it. She really thrived this year and it was fun to watch."

Playing at the top of Vite's zone defense, Woolley was instrumental in creating a SUNY New Paltz defensive unit that ranked second in the SUNYAC, allowing just 7.03 goals per game over 18 games, while creating 222 caused turnovers. Overall, she contributed 52 caused turnovers and had 39 ground balls — both career highs while the former set a new single-season program record, well surpassing the previous mark of 31. In just two seasons, in 31 games played, Woolley is 24 caused turnovers shy of the program's all-time mark.

Woolley added a season high of nine caused turnovers versus Kean University and five caused turnovers and five ground balls against Manhattanville.

In SUNYAC play, the senior totaled 28 caused turnovers and 23 ground balls, with season highs of caused turnovers of six against Buffalo State, five against Brockport and four each versus Plattsburgh and Potsdam. Woolley earned one SUNYAC Women's Lacrosse Athlete of the Week honor for 2024 and was the program's first IWLCA National Player of the Week recipient after setting the single season mark in the ninth game of the season, a pivotal 11-8 victory over Brockport.

"She would get excited for a matchup," Vite said. "When we were going over film and scout and there was an impact player in the top zone that she needed to shut down, she's not the kid that gets nervous for it. She's excited to play them. That was really fun to see, and yeah, she had really big moments in big games. Her first game against Utica one of their best players was a really tall midfielder up top and the first play of the game she comes up with a huge back check on her and it was like, 'oh, this is going to be fun,' and it really just set the tone for the year."


All-SUNYAC Second Team

Lexi Atwater (sophomore, attack)
Brighton, NY/Brighton HS

Lexi Atwater collected her first All-SUNYAC recognition with much earned second team pick. She was a huge part of the high scoring Hawks frontline which netted a record 260 goals over 18 games.

Starting 17 of 18 games, Atwater scored a career-high 58 goals overall, landing her third on the team. She contributed nine assists and had a .740 shots-on-goal percentage, while totaling a career-high 67 points on the year.

Atwater scored three game winning goals, while adding 29 ground balls, 14 caused turnovers and 61 draw controls. She scored six goals four times, which came against Mount Saint Mary College and SUNY Maritime among others. She also scored five goals against Kean University. She had season highs of 14 and 12 shots, respectively, against the Knights and Privateers, holding an .833 shots-on-goal average twice, coming against Kean University and St. Joseph's University (LI).

In SUNYAC play, she started all nine conference games, scoring 29 goals, second-most on the team, with five assists and one game winning goal. She added 17 ground balls, seven caused turnovers and 29 draw controls. She tallied six goals twice, against Potsdam and Oswego; she also scored four against Fredonia and Oneonta. She had a season high two caused turnovers versus Brockport and Brockport. Atwater earned one SUNYAC Women's Lacrosse Player of the Week award in 2024.

"Huge," said Vite of Atwater's impact this season. "She's an irreplaceable kid. She is so fast and has such great stick work, so she was just huge in transition and effectively getting the ball on the attacking end for us. She's great with the ball, she's great off the ball. You can't mark her. She's one of those types of kids that you have to hold her jersey if you want to cover her inside. she's such a sneaky attacker with a high lacrosse IQ and really brings great insight to our entire offense."


Morgan Atwater (sophomore, midfield)
Brighton, NY/Brighton HS

Morgan Atwater upped her game in 2024. After showing a great deal of promise last season, which earned her All-SUNYAC Third Team honors, she exploded with a 66-goal season overall, second on the team, landing her second on the single season goal chart. Her 82 career goals moved her into ninth position on the all-time goals list.

However, Atwater's impact was felt all over the field as a true two-way middie to go along with her prowess on the draw.

"She's that rough and tough kid that I joked all season, had to do the dirty work for us," Vite said. "She was banged up the whole time, taking huge hits but she's so impactful all over the field. She is huge defensively, so athletic, good in our zone from a really important elbow. She was awesome on the draw control when she was able to control the draw that was next level for us and then on offense, when she gets going, she's tough to stop. I think her toughness is what we really needed this year."

Atwater started all 18 games for the Hawks, holding a .741 shots-on-goal percentage. She scored two game-winning goals and added eight assists, 43 ground balls, 25 caused turnovers and 66 draw controls. She scored multiple goals in 17 of 18 games, with non-conference highs of six goals against SUNY Maritime and five goals against St. Joseph's University (LI) and Manhattanville University. Against Kean University, she shot a perfect 1.000 percent going 4-for-4. She had highs of 10 ground balls versus Mount Saint Mary College, which set a program high, and tallied five draw controls against Hartwick College.

Starting all nine SUNYAC games, Atwater scored a team high 32 goals with a .697 shots-on-goal percentage. She added five assists with 19 ground balls, 15 caused turnovers, 29 draw controls and one game winning goal. She scored a career-high seven goals against Plattsburgh; she scored five goals versus Buffalo State and had four, four goal SUNYAC games. She had a season-high of four caused turnovers versus Fredonia.
Additionally, Atwater was named three times to the 2024 SUNYAC Women's Lacrosse Athlete of the Week team.


Francesca Corozzo (junior, defense)
Glen Head, NY/North Shore HS

Another cornerstone on a vaunted Hawks defensive unit, Corozzo locked down at X all season to have her best year to date during her junior campaign in 2024.

Selected for her stellar play, Corozzo enjoyed her first all-conference nod earning a spot on the All-SUNYAC Second Team. She helped SUNY New Paltz to a record setting season, which included record lows in goals allowed (126), goals allowed per game (7.03), total shots allowed (316), shot per game (17.7), goals allowed per game (7.03), and 224 total caused turnovers.

Corozzo started 17 of 18 games with 42 ground balls, 27 caused turnovers with a season high four ground balls versus SUNY Maritime.

In SUNYAC competition, Corozzo started all nine games, collecting 25 ground balls, while totaling 16 caused turnovers. She had a season-high four caused turnovers versus Potsdam and Geneseo, with three against Oneonta. She also had six ground balls against Potsdam and five against Oneonta.

"Frankie is really, really smart. She has a very high lacrosse defensive IQ and sees everything really well," Vite said. "She is also such a competitor. I think that's the best word to describe her. That kid wants to win and really cares about winning. She had some really big plays in big games in big moments. She came up with some huge ground balls. She really challenged some talented righty-X players and she was a big anchor of our defense."


All-SUNYAC Third Team

Mia Baldinger (sophomore, attack)
Massapequa, NY/Massapequa HS

An outstanding midfielder for the Hawk's women's soccer team, Mia Baldinger proved herself to be equally adept as an attacker on the Hawk's high scoring women's lacrosse team.

Baldinger wrote her name into the program record books in 2024 with any number of entries: career assists, season assists, assists in a game, points in a game and more as she embraced her new role in SUNY New Paltz's offense.

"For a long time, I was thinking about my offense and my set up, and who was going to fit where, and it just came back to putting Mia at righty-X because she is such a dynamic dodging threat, and she does such a great job of keeping her head up," Vite said. "She definitely proved me right because I think she really thrived in that position. She did a great job of acting on her instincts, which is usually always right. She's such an athletic, instinctual player. She wasn't worried about just letting those feeds zip in and with the dynamic of our offense with so many people having the ability to catch and finish inside, she really just brought us all together."

On the season, Baldinger set a season record of 60 assists overall with a game high eight assists against Manhatanville. She kept her opponents honest by also scoring 24 goals, fourth for the Hawks. She had a .741 shots-on-goal percentage and was second in total season points with 84. She scored three goals four times and had six assists twice on the year, while adding 37 ground balls, 28 caused turnovers and 29 draw controls, with a season high of six ground balls and eight caused turnovers versus St. Joseph's University (LI). She had at least one assist in all 18 games.

In SUNYAC play, Baldinger started all nine games, totaling 12 goals and 26 assists, and was second in total points with 38. She had a shots-on-goal percentage of .808. She scored two hat tricks, which came against Plattsburgh and Potsdam while adding five assists versus the Cardinals and four assists against Oswego. She added four caused turnovers versus Buffalo State and seven draw controls against Fredonia.


SUNYAC Coaching Staff of the Year

Head Coach Randy Vite (third season, 29-21 career)
Assistant Coaches Chris Biddle and Lara Keenan

In just three seasons, head coach Randy Vite has moved SUNY New Paltz women's lacrosse from the doldrums of SUNYAC women's lacrosse to one of the top contenders for the conference crown. Her 2024 squad was picked to finish fifth in the SUNYAC preseason coach's poll, but far exceeded those expectations — which is a vast understatement.
 
The Hawks finished a close third in the final SUNYAC standings and in just their fourth ever conference tournament, earned their way to the semifinal round appearance after defeating Oneonta in the quarterfinals on their home turf — all firsts for the program. Vite now sits as the winningest coach in Hawk's women's lacrosse history, with a three-year mark of 29-21 overall and 15-12 SUNYAC record. She and her staff have improved SUNY New Paltz both offensively and defensively, as the 2024 statistics show. An outstanding recruiter and mentor, she has now coached 13 Hawks to All-SUNYAC honors, including three first team picks and one SUNYAC Midfielder of the Year in Shaw. Under her tutelage, Shaw was the first in program history to be a first team select, All-Region pick and Midfielder of the Year selection.
 
"It wasn't anything I ever expected, but so exciting to see that because I don't view it as a coach of the year award. I view it as the team of the year award. We were the team of the year that shocked the conference and achieved things that people never thought we would, so I think it's a huge nod to our team and what we achieved together," she said.

Joining Vite in the honor is assistant coaches Lara Keenan and first year assistant coach Chris Biddle. Biddle brought 25 years of lacrosse and tactical improvement experience to the Hawks, which paved the way for both outstanding overall performances for the team and players alike.
 
"It's really nice and really exciting and having Chris Biddle with me this year was awesome," Vite said. "He brought a whole other side of coaching. He definitely really balanced me out. I think we worked well together. He brought our goalies to the next level this year. He does a phenomenal job working with our attackers, our shooters, some of the more technical stuff. He was outside every single day an hour before practice doing small groups, doing small sessions, working with everyone to get us better and I think he made a huge impact on our program this season."



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