New Paltz, NY — The State University of New York at New Paltz left no doubt of who the better team was Saturday afternoon on North Turf Field in the first round of the SUNYAC Tournament.
 
The No.3 seeded Hawks played a dominant, full 60 minutes against visiting No. 6 Fredonia and the result was an impressive 20-5 rout to claim a spot in the conference semifinal for the second-straight season — the first time the program has done so, while closing out at home with their first undefeated mark.
 
"Today was some of the best lacrosse I've seen this program play," said SUNY New Paltz coach Randy Vite. "It was amazing to see their confidence, discipline and composure going into a big game. I believe it really is the next level of our program to act like they are seasoned vets in playoffs. I looked at coach [Chris] Biddle after warmups and said, 'we're ready.' They believed in themselves and each other and played amazing lacrosse for the entire game."
 
The first quarter was electric from the jump for the Hawks who rattled off seven straight goals, wasting no time to find the back of the net as Kira Tucker scored the game opener just 20 seconds following the initial whistle. Morgan Atwater won the ensuing draw, and Tucker found the back of the net again, this time off a feed by Mia Baldinger to double her team's advantage.
 
SUNY New Paltz stood up defensively on the Blue Devils' first time on the offensive end, setting the tone for the remainder of the game as it anchored in. The Hawks forced a shot clock violation after sliding tough in the middle with Morgan Woolley and Kaitlyn Shaw working hard to provide constant pressure up top leading to the team turnover. The result was a Morgan Atwater goal the other way to boost the lead to three.
 
Atwater picked up the ensuing draw control and Lexi Atwater quickly added to the score to push the lead to 4-0 with nine minutes left in the period.
 

Fredonia grabbed its first draw control following the score but quickly coughed up possession thanks to pressure from junior defender Sam Wohlmut, who then picked up the ground ball and sprinted to the opposite restraining line finding Mia Baldinger. Baldinger fed Shannon Lewis for the transition goal, igniting the Hawks bench in the process.  
Morgan Atwater snatched another draw, leading to Tucker's third of the period off a nice feed by Ava Padilla to push the advantage to 5-0. SUNY New Paltz added another, thanks to a caused turnover by Mia Baldinger on the ride leading to a Lewis goal off a dish by Baldinger to extend the run to seven unanswered within the opening 11-minute span.
 
Fredonia put an end to the streak after earning a free position from the center hash following a foul on a drive into the 8-meter. The Hawks quickly answered through, as Padilla whipped a pass to a cutting Lexi Atwater with less than a minute left in the quarter to fatten the cushion to 8-1 entering the second quarter.
 
SUNY New Paltz kept the momentum going at the start of the second, again standing up defensively as Fredonia won the opening draw. A hard double by Woolley and Shaw on the elbow forced an errant pass that ended up in the stick of Wohlmut who again used her speed down the sideline to successfully clear the ball. Padilla was the benefactor, as she caught a pass from Shaw after beating her defender and found the near pipe for the goal.
 
The Hawks went cold offensively for a seven-minute stretch, which included a disallowed goal by Baldinger due to an illegal stick. The hosts earned possessions but couldn't get past Fredonia goalie Ashleigh Manns until Morgan Atwater found the top left pipe to end the streak and push the score to 10-2 with six minutes to go in the half.
 
However, SUNY New Paltz made sure to own a running clock by halftime as Lexi Atwater scored in the final 20 seconds to create a 13-3 difference at the break.

The Hawks continued to roll and had a 16-4 advantage entering the fourth with Samantha DeLucca starting the final 15 minutes with a nice left-handed finish. Allison Beattie, Katie Picarello and JoJo Williams all got in on the action in the fourth to help inflate the lead to the final 20-5 outcome.
 
Padilla, Morgan Atwater and Baldinger led SUNY New Paltz with five points apiece with Atwater totaling a game-high seven draw controls and Baldinger following with five. Kaitlyn Shaw added two points, five draws and a team-leading four ground balls and seven caused turnovers. The latter stat sits second all-time in the single-game program list, just two shy of the record set by Woolley last season.
 
Defensively, Francesca Corozzo and Grace Vience added three ground balls with two and one caused turnover respectively, while Wohlmut finished with two ground balls and a career-high three caused turnovers.  
 
More importantly, the win pushed the Hawks through to the SUNYAC Semifinal round once again, pitting a matchup against No. 2 and reigning SUNYAC Champions SUNY Cortland.
 
"We are so excited to continue our season and see Cortland in a semifinal," Vite said." We are peaking at the right moment and playing the best I've seen us play all season. They are prepared and know what it takes to win. I believe they are up for the challenge and know that on any given day, they can beat anyone."
 
SUNY New Paltz (13-4 overall, 7-2 SUNYAC) will look to dethrone the Red Dragons (10-6, 8-1) on their home field where the two faced back on April 7 with Cortland winning, 10-7. The Hawks hope to notch another program first, following a first undefeated home season and first back-to-back semifinal appearances, with their first win over the Red Dragons for their first SUNYAC Championship appearance.
 
"I honestly had no idea that this was the first season unbeaten at home, but I don't think it's a coincidence," Vite said. "This group has worked so hard and overcame so much. I think it's a great feather if their caps to have protected the nest and go undefeated at home. Most importantly, I think we are road warriors, coming up with some huge wins on the road this season and we are ready to take down Cortland on Wednesday."
 
SUNY New Paltz is set to face Cortland Wednesday at 6 p.m. at SUNY Cortland Stadium Complex. The winner will face the winner of No. 5 seed Buffalo State and No. 1 seed Oswego Saturday, May 3 on the campus of the highest remaining seed.


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