Dallas, PA — The State University of New York New Paltz lost 10-5 on the road to Misericordia Saturday.
 
The two sides were in a defensive battle, but a game-changing third quarter that saw the Cougars tally six goals in the stanza was the difference as the offense couldn't give enough in a tough defensive performance by the visiting Hawks.
 
Misericordia (4-3 overall) out-shot SUNY New Paltz (0-5) 46-29, but the Hawks were more efficient with their attempts with the hosts holding a slight, 25-22 advantage in shots on goal. Meanwhile, the Cougars held the advantage in turnovers (12-16) and ground balls (25-22) with each team scoring once man-up, totaling nine faceoff wins apiece. The hosts were perfect in the clear (24-24) while SUNY New Paltz went 20-for-25 in the category.
 
It was a barnburner of a first half as the two teams were knotted at 2-2 by halftime. The Hawks were first to find the back of the net. The offensive set came following good defense on the other side of the midline, as Jacob Kenny ended the possession with a save for SUNY New Paltz. After clearing, Blake Lyons fed Killian Yombor for the goal to push the Hawks ahead, 1-0 with more than eight minutes to go in the period.
 
Misericordia scored an unassisted goal five minutes later and took its first lead with a minute left in the second. Out of a timeout, the Cougars worked the shot clock before Jake Louis found Patrick Dwyer for the score with about 70 seconds left in the half. Ryan O'Hara won the ensuing faceoff and Misercordia was then hit with a penalty on a cross check, which SUNY New Paltz followed with a timeout.  
Nick Darcangelo ripped a shot in the penalty that went wide, but the Hawks maintained possession. Lyons then was the beneficiary once again, this time feeding Colin Cleary for the score to tie the game at 2-2 with seconds to spare in the half.
 
The third quarter changed the game, as Misercordia came out and scored four unanswered. The first came on a rebound off an initial save from SUNY New Paltz goalie Jacob Kenny. The Cougars won the ensuing faceoff and quickly capitalized with another goal in the semi-transition.
 
After a defensive stand that ended with a save on a shot from Yombor, Misericordia cleared the other way and netted their fifth of the day. The hosts won the ensuing faceoff and tallied another to cap the 4-0 run to take a 6-2 lead with just less than 10 minutes to go in the period. SUNY New Paltz coach Kroy Arnold called a timeout, and the stoppage helped the Hawks regroup, as O'Hara won the ensuing faceoff with Darcangelo assisted long-stick midfielder Sean Cassidy for his third goal of the year to break up the unanswered stretch.
 
A faceoff violation allowed the Cougars a free possession and they capitalized with a score. The Hawks defense stood up in the final two minutes with Kenny making another stop, but they couldn't clear the ball past midfield and Misericordia had another chance on offense. Its first look hit the pipe, but the hosts came up with the ground ball and made sure to put away the second attempt to up its lead to 8-3.
 
SUNY New Paltz answered before quarter's end, as O'Hara won the faceoff with Luke Walters picking up the ground ball off the wing. He got the ball down to Finn Smith who assisted Lyons on his third goal of the year.
 
The Hawks got within three to start the fourth. Cassidy tallied another point on the day as he found Yombor for his second of the game to bring the score to 8-5. However, SUNY New Paltz's offense stalled there as their next shot on goal didn't come until the final two minutes of the game. A penalty with seven to go allowed Misercordia to add to its lead and then scored another to cement the victory with 2:26 left with the Hawks struggling to find looks on cage.  
 
Lyons led the offense with a goal and two assists, but for the second straight game, the players of match were defensive midfielders Cassidy and Walters. Cassidy tallied a goal and assist for a career-high two points, while adding a team-high four ground balls, while Walters matched Cassidy with a team-high four ground balls and added a team-high two caused turnovers. Kenny finished the day with 15 saves in the loss.
 
SUNY New Paltz returns to action Wednesday, going on the road to face Vassar at 4 p.m.


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