Colorado Springs, CO — It was historical.
 
The State University of New York New Paltz made the trip over to Colorado College, exactly 6,035 feet above sea level, and rose to the challenge against the No. 19 nationally ranked Tigers. The Hawks secured the program's first ever nationally ranked victory after earning an 8-7 win thanks to a go-ahead goal in the final 30 seconds by Lexi Atwater.
 
"I'm so proud of them for a variety reasons," said SUNY New Paltz coach Randy Vite. "I scheduled this game to challenge us to be prepared in conference play. I told them this before the game — they deserve to be here. They've been playing at such a high level, and they deserve to be on this field with a nationally ranked team, because they absolutely can compete."
 
The Hawks proved they can more than compete. They never stopped fighting, overcoming a four-goal second half deficit and never led in the game until the final 24 seconds.
 
"Our season theme of fearing no one and coming out with a chip on our shoulder — I told them we might be down by a couple, we might be up by a couple, and we really talked about our mental strength and being able to be in competitive games," Vite added.
 
The game started slowly for both sides, as the two teams fought some fatigue and nerves in the opening minutes, combining for 25 first half turnovers. Vite called an early timeout to regroup her side and emphasized the opportunity to compete against one of the best teams in the country.
 
"Honestly, I think it took the whole first quarter to settle into the game," Vite said. "They were nervous during warmups I could tell… I said have fun, play our game. They are so capable of playing at a high level. I've seen it. When we all play at a high level and play at 110 percent, it's fun and pretty to watch. They listened to the scout. They were disciplined. I harped on our 50-50 stat categories, and we won almost all of them, but yeah, I think it the whole first quarter to settle in."
 
 
Her team found their composure and weathered the storm for a 2-1 first half, thanks in large part of the efforts of Gabriella Tommaso in net who came up with five huge stops. None was bigger than to end the half as Colorado College got on the break after picking up a loose ball at the top of the fan. The Tigers pushed with numbers, but Tommaso read the play well and stuffed the shot high to hold the score at 2-1.
 
The game was scoreless until the Tigers found the back of the net off a free position opportunity with less than two minutes to go in the first quarter. The score remained until the hosts added another with about nine minutes remaining in the second. Tommaso had just made another big stop off a free position, but the Hawks had trouble clearing the ball, short hopping a swing pass below the restraining line that went out of bounds resulting in another chance on offense for Colorado College. SUNY New Paltz fouled inside the eight, leading to another free position attempt, which found the back of the cage to up the score to 2-0.
 
Tommaso was forced to make another huge stop after the Tigers won the ensuing draw control and pushed down the field. Francesca Corozzo helped clear from one end to the other which led to an opportunity on a drive by Kaitlyn Shaw on the offensive end, but her attempt rang off the pipe to keep the Hawks off the board.

 
 
SUNY New Paltz finally got its opportunity though with less than five minutes to play in the half, as the Tigers were hit with a yellow card after running through Kira Tucker at X on a screen. The Hawks took advantage of the power play, as Katie Picarello zipped a pass inside to a cutting Lexi Atwater who scored her first of six goals on the day.
 
"Apparently, it was the thin air that was making us pass the ball over people's heads is what they said during the first timeout," Vite said. "I said, 'oh is that what that is? Let's adjust to the thin air then and settle in.' But once they did settle in, I think they gained confidence and momentum throughout the game and carried us to a huge win at the end."  
The score stayed at 2-1 at the break with Tommaso coming up with one last huge stop on a Colorado College fastbreak to hold onto some momentum for her team. Tucker answered an opening goal by the Tigers to start the second half, scoring off a nifty play by Ava Padilla who dodged to her left, baited a defender to slide and slipped a pass to Tucker who was wide open in front of goal to put away her sixth of the year.
 
SUNY New Paltz started falling into a slight deficit as the third quarter waned, however, as the Tigers were taking advantage of their prowess on the draw circle with Meilani Molina picking up two straight draw controls that led to scores just 40 seconds apart to bring the lead to 5-2. They added on about two minutes later off another free position goal and extended their advantage to four.
 
The Hawks stayed resilient though, earning one back before the end of the period. Morgan Woolley helped on the defensive end stepping in for a charge to force a turnover. Morgan Atwater did the rest running the length of the field for a transition goal to cut the deficit in half entering the fourth.
 
SUNY New Paltz owned the final 15 minutes of the game. It out-shot the hosts, 14-3 in the period, while forcing them into eight turnovers and out-ground balling them, 5-1 despite losing most of the possession on the draw. The Hawks defense dug in and played some of their best minutes of the season, backed by Piper Mascaros who came in as the closer for Tommaso and the sophomore came up clutch as well.
 
After SUNY New Paltz fired six shots on cage in the opening five minutes of the quarter, Lexi Atwater netted another off a free position attempt with 10:30 remaining. Colorado College won the ensuing draw, but the Hawks defense anchored in and forced a turnover which led to another great feed by Picarello to Lexi Atwater to get their team within one, leading to a Tigers timeout.
 
Colorado College won the ensuing possession, but Aiylin Rutnik forced a turnover with the Tigers then hit with a green card following a foul in the midfield. SUNY New Paltz took advantage of the extra man, as Mia Baldinger fed Lexi Atwater for the game-tying score with 7:16 left.
 
Colorado College earned one last lead after the Hawks awarded the hosts a two-man-up opportunity. Picarello was given a green on a foul between the restraining lines and soon after, Amy Whitman was handed a yellow on a hard foul in the eight. SUNY New Paltz nearly milked the man-down situation, but as soon as it tried getting another across for a 7-v-6, the Tigers found the open man in front of net for the goal.  
The Hawks stayed gritty as the score didn't deter any doubt of a comeback. Morgan Atwater placed her draw control right into the stick of Lexi Atwater, leading to two consecutive shot and saves. Lexi Atwater picked up the last attempt just in front of the crease and placed her shot into the net for the game-tying score with three minutes to go.
 
Although the Hawks won possession off the ensuing draw, the Tigers had the chance to tie as the game clock went under the two-minute mark. Morgan Atwater played tight defense though out on the elbow, forcing a turnover with the ball scurrying out past the restraining line for a scrum to fight for the ground ball. Lexi Atwater came out of the pack and took advantage of numbers, running herself from end-to-end. The hosts were late to slide, and Atwater benefited as she netted the go-ahead score with 24 seconds to spare.
 
But, maybe the biggest play of the game came in those last 24 seconds. Molina won the ensuing draw, and the Tigers earned the left center hash after a foul inside the arc. Mascaros stood tall and read Colorado College's Peyton Murphy all the way, getting her body and stick low to make the game-winning stop as time winded to zeros, solidifying the Hawks' historic win.
 
"They've been working so hard," said Vite of her two goalies who were x-factors in the victory, combining for seven stops. "They've had the best attitudes and they've both been playing so well. It's so nice to have two goalies who are so ready at any given moment to come up with huge saves. They both deserve this win today and I'm so proud of them. They did a great job."
 
The win was monumental for the program, beating a nationally ranked opponent for the first time while upping their record to 5-1 on the year, and overall, the Hawks did dominate the stat line. They out-shot the Tigers, 31-18, had less turnovers (24-15) and picked up more ground balls (21-15) despite losing the battle on the circle, 15-4.
 
Lexi Atwater was the catalyst offensively, as the junior notched her third six-plus goal game of the season, while adding three ground balls, two caused turnovers and two draw controls. Tommaso was credited with a game-high six ground balls and three caused turnovers to go along with five saves. Baldinger, meanwhile, chipped in with an assist, three ground balls, three caused turnovers and a draw control. Whitman also accounted for a game-high three caused turnovers, while adding two ground balls.
 
Although the win was monumental for Vite and her entire squad, the Hawks know the season has just begun. The ultimate goal is working toward achieving the most coveted program first — a conference championship title.
 
"I think experience is the best teacher," Vite said. "Being in these big games, feeling the nerves before the game, being down, being up, calling the timeouts, regrouping, feeling all of those emotions throughout this game is just going to pay us dividends as we move forward because I anticipate us being in a lot of big games just like this. My hope is that this game gives us experience and confidence moving forward that we've been in these positions. We've played really talented teams, and we've beat them."
 
SUNY New Paltz is on short rest as its spring break Colorado trip is not yet over with the Hawks facing No. 9 nationally ranked Pomona-Pitzer at Washburn Field Wednesday at 1 p.m. eastern standard time.
 

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