Cortland, NY — The State University of New York New Paltz lost in the SUNYAC Semifinal round Wednesday evening to No. 2 seeded Cortland, 17-3.
 
The Hawks earned its first consecutive trips to the second round of the conference tournament after a dominating victory over Fredonia in the quarterfinals Saturday, pitting a re-match against the Red Dragons who had defeated them, 10-7 in their regular season matchup. SUNY New Paltz struggled offensively Wednesday against Cortland, unable to take advantage of early possessions and in turn, the hosts began to build a cushion with possessions for the Hawks coming fewer and far between as the game waned.
 
Overall, the Red Dragons out-shot SUNY New Paltz, 34-20 including 26-13 in shots on goal with Cortland also holding the advantage on the draw, 14-9 with the Hawks struggling in transition, as they went 9-for-17 on clears.
 
The Hawks had a prime opportunity to take the game's first lead as Cortland was hit with a yellow on a hard foul in the 8 on a driving Morgan Atwater. Atwater was awarded the left center hash but was delayed a bit with the officials re-adjusting the clock in between. The stoppage iced Atwater a bit, as her shot was saved, and the Red Dragons quickly transitioned the other way and killed the man-up opportunity.
 
 
SUNY New Paltz had another power play shortly after, as Francesca Corozzo drew a Red Dragons yellow trying to clear the ball following a defensive stop. The Hawks got two good looks off the man-up set, including a nice feed by Ava Padilla to Kira Tucker, but the shot attempt was stuffed high, and Cortland quickly got the ball up the field and ran. It killed the time remaining and earned a free position on the possession, resulting in the game's first goal with 10 minutes left in the period.  
The Hawks held up defensively and had a strong defensive set even forcing a loose ball due to pressure at X by Sam Wohlmut who forced an errant throw that was dropped and dribbled past the restraining line. SUNY New Paltz couldn't pick up the loose ball for the change of possession and instead, the Red Dragons had another go at goal and they capitalized with the game's second goal with 6:30 remaining.
 
Atwater earned another free position for a chance to get her team on the board, but her shot low was saved and Cortland again quickly got the ball out to start transition the other way. Wohlmut went to pick the pass on the break but just missed, allowing the Red Dragons a 2-v-1 at goal, which they capitalized on to go up, 3-0.
 
Cortland scored again after winning the ensuing draw, putting away another free position goal with three minutes left in the period.
 
The Hawks looked shaky in the second quarter, having trouble holding onto the ball and transition past their restraining line. The result was three quick goals by Cortland which rolled with the momentum driving and finishing on consecutive plays to fatten its cushion to 7-0 by the 10-minute mark of the second quarter. It scored another on a man-up opportunity three minutes later before pushing its lead to 9-0 after forcing a failed clear following a back check on goalie Piper Mascaros resulting in a turnover.
 
Lexi Atwater finally got SUNY New Paltz on the board, earning a free position at center hash after she was hit inside following a feed by Shannon Lewis from X into the middle. Lexi Atwater drove and finished with her right to cut the deficit to 9-1 at the half.  
Possessions started to thin out in the second half for the Hawks which allowed Cortland to roll. SUNY New Paltz played valiantly defensively to limit the damage but without a sustainable opportunities across the opposite 25-yard line the Hawks started getting gassed and the Red Dragons took advantage.
 
The hosts scored four more until Ava Padilla found Lexi Atwater for the quick-stick goal to bring the score down, 13-3 entering the fourth. Their offense was limited there, however, as Cortland added on to cement the 17-3 final.
 
Lexi Atwater accounted for two goals, one ground ball and three draws. Padilla followed with an assist and a caused turnover, while Picarello tallied a goal and ground ball. Amy Whitman led all players with four ground balls, while Morgan Woolley finished with a game-high four caused turnovers
 
SUNY New Paltz ends its 2025 campaign at 13-5 overall and 7-2 in the SUNYAC. It graduates four key seniors including Kaityn Shaw, Woolley, Tucker and Corozzo. The quartet will leave with more wins then any other class in program history with the only two SUNYAC postseason wins in program history.


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