Syracuse, NY — The State University of New York Athletic Conference announced its weekly conference award winners with the Hawks sweeping field hockey honors as Miranda Britton and Meghan Gunning named Offensive and Defensive Athlete of the Week.
 
Britton enjoyed her third ever SUNYAC Offensive Athlete of the Week nod after being named twice last season, while Gunning earns her first SUNYAC honor and is the second Defensive Player of the Week named this season joining teammate Gail Comiskey who notched the accolade the week of Sept. 15.
 
Britton was the offensive catalyst in a breakout week for the Hawks who won both games at home against Union College and SUNY Oneonta. After SUNY New Paltz went down 1-0 to the Garnett Chargers, Britton stemmed the come-back scoring her first of two goals in the fourth quarter, including the game-tying and game-winning goal to help her team cement a 2-1 victory. She totaled six shots and four on goal for a .667 shot-on-goal percentage. Her momentum continued into Saturday where Britton led the offense with two more goals in a 3-1 win, including the opening goal to give the Hawks a 1-0 lead in the first five minutes, along with an insurance goal in the fourth quarter. She led all players in shots, totaling 11 with eight on goal for a .727 shot-on-goal percentage. On the week, Britton led her team with eight points, 17 shots, 12 shots-on-goal with one game winner.
 
Gunning, meanwhile, helped limit opponents to just two goals on the week and eight shots against through two wins. In a 2-1 win over Union, Gunning helped hold Union to four shots and was critical on the Hawks' press to force multiple turnovers in their offensive half, while adding an assist in the game-tying goal. In a 3-1 win over Oneonta, Gunning aided SUNY New Paltz's defense to hold the Red Dragons to just four shots on goal, while assisting on the go-ahead and game-winning goals with the latter stemming off an intercepted pass from her team's press that led to the score.
 
Read the official SUNYAC press release here.

The Hawks are back in action Saturday, returning home to host rival SUNY Cortland at 1 p.m. on North Turf Field.


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