NEW PALTZ, NY — The State University of New York New Paltz field hockey team made its New Jersey Athletic Conference debut Saturday morning, hosting Kean University on North Turf in the Hawks' first-ever NJAC contest.
SUNY New Paltz struck first and carried a one-goal advantage through the opening quarter, but the Cougars responded with four unanswered goals to take the conference opener, 4-1.
The Hawks opened the scoring less than four minutes into the contest after earning an early penalty corner. Caydence Parker stepped to the penalty spot and buried the ensuing attempt at 3:38, giving the Hawks an early 1-0 advantage with her team-leading fifth goal of the season.
New Paltz continued threatening throughout the opening period. Parker put another attempt on cage minutes later before Kean goalkeeper Daniella Maresca denied opportunities from Sophia Bronzi and Parker to keep the Cougars within one.
The Hawks' defense held firm on the opposite end despite six first-quarter shots from Kean, taking their 1-0 advantage into the second. Kean eventually found the equalizer late in the second quarter as Shannon Conroy set up Joslin Cain in the 26th minute, leveling the score at one heading into halftime.
The Cougars quickly carried the momentum into the second half. Just 1:16 after the restart, Ali Stoner found Conroy for the go-ahead goal. Kean continued applying pressure throughout the third quarter before Conroy struck again with 25 seconds remaining in the period, scoring off a feed to extend the advantage to 3-1.
SUNY New Paltz continued creating opportunities and earned seven penalty corners over the final two quarters but could not cut into the deficit. Stoner added the Cougars' fourth goal at 46:32 to close out the scoring.
The Hawks generated several chances down the stretch, with Parker remaining active offensively as SUNY New Paltz searched for a response.
Kean finished with a 21-10 advantage in shots and put 19 attempts on goal compared to nine for SUNY New Paltz while the Cougars held a narrow 11-10 edge in penalty corners.
Parker paced the Hawks offensively with six shots, five on goal and her fifth goal of the season. Samantha Torres registered two defensive saves, while Gabriella Barth added another as SUNY New Paltz totaled three defensive saves on the afternoon.
******************
To stay up to date with everything #NPHawks be sure to follow us on Twitter at @nphawks, Instagram and Facebook at @newpaltzhawks, and subscribe to our Youtube channel, New Paltz Hawks.
