Albany, NY — In their first game of the regular season, The State University of New York New Paltz defeated familiar opponent Russell Sage College, in a close 1-0 victory. 

"I am overall pleased with our competitiveness on opening night," said Hawks coach Mike Eckberg. "Nerves can be unstable and questionable, but it's exciting and we get an opportunity to get back to work and keep refining our process."

SUNY New Paltz has faced Sage for the past four seasons in a row, and 11 times overall. The Hawks have, after the 2024 home opener, bested the Gators in the teams' past three meetings. 

Within the first five minutes of play, Mia Baldinger found Rachel Eisert off a corner kick which Eisert tried to head in, but Gators keeper Olivia Horan saved the attempt. Eisert and Alexis DeLeo had a shot each in the possessions that followed, but neither were successful.

Sage's sole scoring attempt in the first was in the 14th minute, where a Gator defender headed the ball toward the Hawks' net, but keeper Maddie Franklin was quick to deny the opportunity.

The closest SUNY New Paltz came to scoring in the first was late in the half off a corner kick. Emma Voege nailed one to the center of the box, where a swarm of Hawk players tried to tap the ball in, but the Gators stood strong and kept SUNY New Paltz away from the net until the buzzer sounded.      

The second half started with another corner kick by Voege, this time connecting with Gaby Treble, but she could not put it in the back of the net. Later on, an offside call in the 68th minute stripped the Hawks of a netted shot by Abby Dolge, and a possible 1-0 lead. 
After numerous close shots by SUNY New Paltz, Treble slotted a low shot off an assist from Parris Burke at the end of the 78th minute to put a goal on the board for the visitors. Although late in the game, there was still a lot of time for the Gators to retaliate, but Franklin and the rest of the Hawks' back line stood strong and prevented Sage from scoring the rest of the time. SUNY New Paltz left the match on top and started its season with a 1-0 record. 

"Maddie Franklin had two game-saving moments," said Eckberg. "One was on a great set piece which she read very well to keep it 0-0, and another [was] in the run of play that could've equalized it. Our backs [also] worked tirelessly throughout 90 minutes."

Treble was the sole scorer on the day, finishing one of her two attempted shots. Eisert was a consistent offensive threat with 10 shots taken, with seven being on net. Burke tallied one assist and two shots, whilst newcomer Dolge attempted four shots, all of them on goal. Franklin scooped up one save in the 90 minutes. 

"I was very pleased with how our attacking ideas progressed throughout the second half," said Eckberg. "We found some great moments to isolate Gaby wide [and] Rachel was sound linking up play while bringing a fierce attitude towards goal, while Abby Dolge did a great job to bring the overall level of composure into our attack."

SUNY New Paltz returns to action in its first home game Sep. 4, where the Hawks will face Montclair State University. Kickoff is at 4 p.m. 

 
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