New Paltz, NY — The State University of New York New Paltz suffered its first loss Wednesday against the Scranton Royals at home. The Hawks ended the first half tied with the Royals 0-0, but two goals in the second closed the game with Scranton victorious, 2-0. 

SUNY New Paltz came into the match having risen from No. 8 to No. 7 in the regional ranking polls for Region III. Scranton, however, sits at the No. 5 spot in Region V. Both top teams also entered the game with undefeated records. 

The Royals were first to push offensively. The visitors pressed against the Hawks' defense through the 3rd minute until junior Abby Dolge sent the ball out to stop play. Scranton responded after the throw in with a long ball into the box, which keeper Maddie Franklin easily scooped up. The Royals tried to fire one in after regaining possession off the clear, but Franklin saved the strike. 

On the clear, Hannah Wellinger sent a pass up to Dolge, who tried to find someone forward, but to no avail as the pass went to the Scranton Keeper before a Hawk could get a touch. Scranton responded with a run up the right side, where Wellinger skillfully took the ball away from the forward, but the ball was knocked out of bounds for a Royals' corner. Scranton crossed through the box for an attempted header in the 5th minute, but the shot missed just outside the left post.

In the sixth minute, Scranton played a ball forward, where Emma Voege was one step ahead to defend the run. Despite the strong defensive effort, the visitors got a shot off, but Franklin slid low to deflect, which sent the ball out of the goal area. SUNY New Paltz's backline cleared and sent the Hawks on another upfield campaign. Forward Brooke Kelleher looked to send someone toward the Royals' net, but SUNY New Paltz's front line was not ready to push and the opportunity was lost. 

In the 14th minute, Franklin acted on her toes once again. Scranton had a fast break opportunity in their offensive third, but Franklin executed a phenomenal diving save to keep the score 0-0. Franklin proved her SUNYAC Defensive Player of the Week skills against Scranton, as she garnered six saves in the first half alone.

Two minutes after the save, a foul from SUNY New Paltz led to a free kick for the Royals, which placed the ball into a the Hawks' defensive third. Scranton's striker got shot off, but Franklin stood strong for an easy save. On the clear, Rachel Eisert tried to set up the forwards for a run, but her strong kick was prematurely scooped up by the Scranton keeper.

After a shot drought from the Hawks, the hosts regained the ball and pushed forward, and the run concluded with another corner opportunity gained. Voege took the corner in the 31st minute and found Eisert in the box. Eisert attempted a header, but the try went off right. Treble followed up with a shot on net, where the Scranton goalie reacted quickly and tapped the ball out of bounds. The following corner trickled through the box, which the Hawks tried to send back in, but the cross was corralled by the keeper. 

Despite the Royals' two more shots on the half, SUNY New Paltz defended well until the end of the first and denied both opportunities to stay tied, 0-0. 
 

To start the second, Scranton worked the ball up towards cage and got a wide shot off in the 49th minute, which curved out of bounds. Three minutes later, however, the ball found its way back into the Hawks' defensive half. Freshman Grace Lien made a crucial tackle that changed possession and started the offensive movement for SUNY New Paltz. However, the Royals regained possession in midfield, and pushed back to the Hawks' cage. Scranton got a shot off, but the instep drive flew past the back post. 

In the 52nd minute, the Royals got possession again after a misplaced ball from SUNY New Paltz and tried to bury one in the low left corner, but Franklin covered the space and knocked the ball out of bounds. Unfortunately, Scranton placed the subsequent corner well and headed the ball over Franklin and into the back of the net. Only seven minutes into the half, the visitors were now leading 1-0. 

The Hawks could not connect on any of their following set pieces, having four shot attempts versus the Royals' two. However, on Scranton's next shot, they saw more success.  

In the 79th minute, the Royals received possession after an untimely offsides call against the Hawks, and made a strong run upfield. A pass back towards the top of the box set up a Scranton player to dribble down and strike a shot into the back left corner of the net. 

Their second of the game, the Royals had an insurance goal heading into the final ten minutes of play. SUNY New Paltz could not respond in the short time, and Scranton came out with the win as the buzzer sounded. 

Despite the loss, the Hawks fared well defensively, with the combination of Lien, Wellinger, Voege, and Erin Savarese preventing numerous threatening scoring opportunities from the Royals. The defensive squad was anchored by incumbent keeper Franklin, who totaled seven saves on the day. Gaby Treble led the offense with five shots and three on frame. Kelleher and Eisert followed with two shots each, and Dolge had one on net.

The Hawks are on the road to face another regionally ranked opponent, RPI, Saturday. Kickoff in Troy is 12 p.m. 
 

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