Poughkeepsie, NY — The State University of New York New Paltz lost 22-5 on the road to Vassar College Wednesday afternoon.
 
The hosting Brewers (4-3 overall) outmatched the visiting Hawks (0-6) as they tallied more shots (59-21), shots on goal (42-14), ground balls (48-32) and face off wins (21-9), along with yielding less turnovers (26-14) and was more efficient in the clear going 17-for-18 with SUNY New Paltz finishing 18-for-26.
 
The Hawks were the first to score, thanks to a caused turnover by defensive midfielder Brandon Ortiz to jar loose the opening ground ball off the faceoff. SUNY New Paltz capitalized on its first offensive possession, as Finn Smith fed Killian Yombor for the goal not even a minute into the game.
 
However, the Hawks continued struggling at the faceoff X which allowed Vassar to hold onto the ball for the majority of the game. After winning possession on the ensuing faceoff, the Brewers tied the score at a goal apiece before taking their first lead two minutes later following a turnover on the offensive end for the visitors. The Brewers rattled off three more before Smith ended the scoreless stretch, as he capitalized on a man-up opportunity, finishing on a pass from Jack McLaughlin to cut the score 5-2 entering the second.
 
The Brewers started breaking the game open int the following 15 minutes. They put up four goals to start the second quarter to take a 9-2 advantage within the opening five minutes of the period. Defensive midfielder Luke Walters broke up the run, scoring his third of the year following a caused turnover by defensemen Yasin Tabatabaee.  
Vassar established a double-digit lead four minutes into the second half and put away seven unanswered before Smith scored his second off an assist from Colin Cleary stemmed from a Brendon Lloyd faceoff and ground ball win. Blake Lyons got in on the scoring for the Hawks, netting his fourth of the season with the Brewers in the penalty two minutes later.
 
Smith led the team in points (4) on two goals and two assists, while adding two ground balls and a caused turnover. Defensemen Aidan Harrington tied for a team-high four ground balls while adding two caused turnovers. Poles Drew Hulede and Tabatabaee also each tallied two caused turnovers with Hulede picking up three ground balls.
 
Jacob Kenny suffered the loss after playing the opening 38 minutes, finishing with 13 saves and four ground balls. Zach Novak (5 saves) and Eric Waldron (2 saves) came in for relief in cage for SUNY New Paltz.
 
The Hawks look to bounce back Saturday when they host Mount Saint Vincent College on North Turf Field Saturday at 2 p.m.
 

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