As the State University of New York New Paltz women's lacrosse team embarks on its 28th and final season in the SUNYAC, the Hawks look to make 2026 a truly memorable campaign. Not only are the Hawks looking to make their third straight appearance in the SUNYAC post-season tournament, but their aim is also to move beyond their two consecutive semifinal appearances and end their SUNYAC career as conference champions.
 
While ranked third in the SUNYAC coaches' preseason poll, the Hawks have the majority of 2025's team returning, including two All-Region and four All -SUNYAC selections. Keeping consistent leadership in the program is important for continuing success and first-year head coach Christopher Biddle is no stranger. A two-year assistant under former head coach Randy Vite, Biddle was a part of SUNY New Paltz earning SUNYAC Coaching Staff of the Year honors in 2024 and on staff during the last two historic seasons - both winningest in program history.
 
Biddle took over the interim role this past fall until being promoted to head coach in January. The team, like most programs in the Northeast, battled through limited field time due to the drop in temperatures and winter storm over the course of their opening weeks of preseason. However, despite the obstacles, the Hawks continued to work toward opening weekend and showed out in their first scrimmage against Vassar, Jan. 14 on North Turf Field. After falling the Brewers during their fall play day, SUNY New Paltz looked as though it picked up where it left off last spring and handled Vassar in an eventual 15-8 win.
 
"This team has had to handle a lot of adversity to begin this preseason. With the weather and the coaching change, we've just had a lot to handle as players and people, but I think this group has definitely done a great job of taking it upon each individual shoulders to move forward and play the best lacrosse we can," said SUNY New Paltz junior defender and co-captain Amy Whitman. "Coach Biddle has definitely led us in the right direction. Obviously with the loss of coach Randy [Vite] it has been hard, especially for us returners, but coming back I think the freshmen have integrated really well and have been doing a great job of becoming members of this team and integrated not just on the field but off the field as well and I'm looking forward to see how everyone is going to do in the regular season."

 
 
Last season, the Hawks posted a 13-5 overall record, with a best-ever 7-2 SUNYAC mark to earn the No. 3 seed in the SUNYAC Tournament for the second straight year. As a team, they scored 249 goals, while allowing just 138, totaled 554 shots with 261 shots-on-goal, only allowing opponents 326 shots and 144 shots-on-goal. Defensively, they tallied 380 ground balls, 271 caused turnovers, 227 draw controls and went 303-for-365 (.830) in clears.
 
Although SUNY New Paltz returns the bulk of its lineup and add a talented freshmen class who will see time early in the year, the program graduated four key starters in midfielders Kaitlyn Shaw, Kira Tucker and defenders Morgan Woolley and Francesca Corozzo. Corozzo was a four-year starter, captain and earned All-SUNYAC honors twice in her career, while Tucker was a key part of the offense, registering 24 goals last season. Woolley was a two-time All-SUNYAC select and All-Region pick, while Shaw left her mark as the unquestioned best player in program history, holding all-time records for points and goals, was a four-time All-SUNYAC select, two-time All-Region pick and was the team's first ever SUNYAC Midfielder of the Year honoree in 2024.
"Obviously we lost four big, major players and leaders on the field, but we've had a lot of people step up into those roles," Whitman said. "I think not only the leadership on the team is important, but individual accountability [as well] and you can see that from top to bottom, from seniors to freshmen. Everyone is doing their part in the gym and on the field, and everyone is trying their best to improve every day, taking it one day at a time. I think we are in a great place in the SUNYAC. We can and will compete with the Cortland's and Oswego's, it's just about raising the standard every day. We're doing our best to keep those standards high and perform at our best, so we can take that chip back to the nest."

Leading the way for the Hawks is fellow co-captains Lexi and Morgan Atwater, both were multiple All-SUNYAC selects, were named SUNYAC Attacker and Midfielder of the Year, and were IWLCA All-Region picks in 2025. Lexi Atwater (Brighton, NY/Brighton HS) who became the team's first ever First-Team All-Region honoree, also starting all 18 games with 67 goals, four game-winners with a shots-on-goal percentage of .775. She added six assists and had 29 ground balls, 13 caused turnovers and 31 draw controls. Morgan Atwater (Brighton, NY/Brighton HS) started all 18 games, scoring 41 goals with eight assists with a shots-on-goals percentage of .733.  She contributed 38 ground balls, 27 caused turnovers and 61 draw controls. 

"The individual accolades are definitely brownie points. I couldn't do any of that without my team and my coaching staff," Morgan Atwater said. "I think having the opportunity at a chip this year would really just seal the deal for me. Each and every one of us have put in so much effort, time, dedication and energy in this program. We all want this program to succeed. We have the depth this year. We have an amazing offense, an amazing defense, we come to play, we come to win, we're competitive and I think we can get it done this year and really seal the deal and get that chip."  
 
Senior attacker/midfielder Mia Baldinger also returns for her final season on the field. The Massapequa, NY native already holds the program's all-time assist record and was an All-SUNYAC select as a junior in 2024. Last season, she started all 18 games, scored 11 goals, two game winners, with a .710 shots-on-goal percentage, while adding 28 assists, 38 ground balls, 21 caused turnovers and 36 draw controls. 
 
Junior Ava Padilla also started all 18 games with nine goals, one a gamer, with a 750 shots-on-goal percentage and led SUNY New Paltz with 45 assists. Senior Nicole Matthews (East Setauket, NY/Ward Melville HS) (two goals, three assists) alongside juniors Jojo Williams (Highland, NY/Highland HS) (three goals), Samantha DeLucca (Lynbrook, NY/Lynbrook HS) (four goals, two assists), Allison Beattie (East Greenbush, NY/Columbia HS) (six goals, 11 assists) and sophomore Tiana Zarcone (Holbrook, NY/Sachem HS East) (one goal) all have the talent to make significant contributions to the attacking line in 2026. Freshman Brooke Peters (Carmel, NY/Carmel HS) was a Section 1, Class A pick, leading the Rams to the 2024 and 2025 Section 1, Class A playoffs.

 
 
The midfielders joining Morgan Atwater on the circle include junior Helena Willis (Binghamton, NY/Chenango Forks HS) and sophomore Katie Picarello (Stony Point, NY/North Rockland HS). Willis saw action in 14 games, starting one with three goals and one assist, while adding 13 ground balls and eight caused turnovers; Picarello started two of 18 games with five goals and nine assists. Both will see their roles elevated into key contributors entering this spring. Three newcomers fill in the remainder of the midfield corps: Izzy Klein (Garnerville, NY/North Rockland HS), Alex DiRusso (Kings Park, NY/Kings Park HS), and Samantha Gemmo (Oceanside, NY/Oceanside HS).  All three know what it takes to be champions; each having contributed to their respective high school teams run in sectional playoff action.
 
"We lost some key players, and they were integral players in our program, [but] we've had underclassmen rise to the occasion this year," Morgan Atwater said. "Upperclassmen's voices have been heard on the field, and you can see the maturity level grow throughout every single player. It doesn't matter if you're on the sideline, play 60 minutes — everyone has that strong IQ and is a leader out there and has a voice. So yes, I think it is difficult to lose those [four] but we also gained so many key players. Our freshmen are awesome. They really integrated well into the program. They're competitive, they're fast, they're hungry, they want to win and then we have a sophomore class that is really knocking us off all our toes recently. And our juniors and seniors are really rising to the occasion. I think we have a pretty solid foundation."
 
The Hawks defense, as it has been the last four years, will be the backbone of the program and looks to have a dominant run as SUNY New Paltz brings back a core that's played within Vite's zone system for the last three years. Biddle brought in alumna Grace Berardi to help run the defense as an assist this season, as she herself excelled in the system for three seasons from 2022 to 2024, earning a starting spot in all 18 games during her senior season.
 
Junior Aiylin Rutnik (Niskayuna, NY/Niskayuna HS) started all 18 games with 11 ground balls and 11 caused turnovers. Senior Sam Wohlmut (Center Moriches, NY/Center Moriches HS) started 17 of 18 games played with 22 ground balls, 20 caused turnovers and two draw controls. Sophomore Chiara Rutigliano (Oyster Bay, NY/Oyster Bay HS) started 14 of 18 games played with 14 ground balls, eight caused turnovers and two draw controls, while Whitman started four of 13 games played with 18 ground balls, 10 caused turnovers and one draw control.
 
Whitman broke out as a freshman in 2024 before suffering a season-ending ACL injury which she worked back from last season. In her third year, she looks primed for a breakout year with a louder voice to lead the defensive unit as she was named the lone junior co-captain.
 
"I want the best for my team, and I want the best for my teammates, just picking them up when their down — it's the best," Whitman said. "Being at practice and saying my piece alongside coach Biddle and my fellow captains Morgan and Lexi, leading this team, there's nothing I want to do more. I wake up every morning and I'm excited to come to practice. I'm excited to play with my teammates. There's no better group of girls out there and I just think being a leader on this team, I want to take us all the way. I want us to leave a legacy here and again, just win the chip in the last year in the SUNYAC."
 
Sophomores Grace Vience (Massapequa, NY/Massapequa HS), Mia Umbro (Trumbull, CT/Trumbull HS), Kelsey Foster (Smithtown, NY/Smithtown HS East) and Maddy Luongo (Massapequa, NY/Farmingdale HS) now have a year of collegiate experience that should enable them to grow into solid defensive performers. Two outstanding first-year defenders look to vie for playing time:  Maddie Easton (Latham, NY/Shaker HS) and Kayden Cornell (Colonie, NY/Colonie Central HS) both led programs that annually earned appearances in the Section 2, Class A playoffs.
 
Between the pipes are two top goalies in senior Gabriella Tommaso (Port Jefferson Station, NY/Comsewogue HS) and junior Piper Mascaros (Greenlawn, NY/Elwood-John H. Glenn HS) who split time last season. Tommaso started 10 of 17 games with 460 minutes on the field; she posted a 7.15 goals-against-average with a .396 saves percentage. Mascaros saw heavy minutes in the back-half of the season and ultimately earned her first All-SUNYAC honor of her career after seeing 559 minutes of action, starting nine of 18 games with an 8.37 goals-against-average and a .420 save percentage. Sophomore Izzy Miraglia (Hardyston, NJ/Sussex County Technical School) saw action in four games with 60 minutes of playing time. She posted a 5.00 goals-against-average with a.545 save percentage.
 
Despite the change of guard on the coaching staff, Biddle's group is looking to raise the bar. Coming off back-to-back seasons with double-digit wins for only the third time program history, a second-consecutive No. 3 seed in postseason play and a returning appearance in the SUNYAC semifinals, The Hawks goals are to exceed those previous achievements and they believe they can. Their hurdle is to continue growing and staying atop the upper echelon of the league while also finally earning wins over conference foes SUNY Cortland and Oswego State.
 
"We have almost a 28 person roster this year and each and every one of us are ready to play," Morgan Atwater said. "All of us are going to see the field, so depth is definitely essential for us to win and compete in the SUNYAC and compete with Cortland, compete with Oswego and go and beat them."
 
The 2026 season begins Saturday at Utica University at 1 p.m. before coming home to host Skidmore College on North Turf Field at 11 a.m. SUNY New Paltz will then face two future NJAC opponents in NJAC champion The College of New Jersey March 14, followed by Kean University March 18.  Beginning March 21, the Hawks will play nine consecutive SUNYAC games, beginning with SUNY Canton March 21 and concluding at SUNY Morrisville April 22. The SUNYAC Tournament kicks off on April 25.

Season Preview featuring Amy Whitman & Morgan Atwater



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