New Paltz, NY — The State University of New York New Paltz earned a 12-4 win over visiting Fredonia Saturday on North Turf Field to extend its winning streak to three and staying perfect within the SUNYAC.
 
The Hawks (6-3 overall, 2-0) defense showed out once again, as they returned junior starting defender Aiylin Rutnik from injury and went into their signature zone defense which stifled the Blue Devils. SUNY New Paltz forced Fredonia into 27 turnovers and yielded just 12 shots against, six on goal, with the hosts also pressuring well on the ride to force the Blue Devils into five failed clears.
 
After Fredonia got on the board with a free position goal following a three second violation by the Hawks, Mia Baldinger answered for the home team with the play stemming from the defensive end on a batted pass from Rutnik. The Niskayuna, NY native then picked up the ground ball and SUNY New Paltz cleared the other way, resulting in a Baldinger goal off a feed from X by Ava Padilla.

The Blue Devils were forced into calling an early timeout after looking frantic following two failed clears. The Hawks continued their tenacious defense out of the break with Rutnik forcing the ball out once again with Sam Wohlmut there to clean up on the ground ball, as the senior started her team in transition.
 
The Hawks defense continued making stand after stand, as Chiara Rutigliano also forced a turnover on the ride, leading to a Rutnik ground ball but they failed to capitalize on the other end. Wohlmut played sound defense, pressuring on the sideline as soon as Fredonia crossed the restraining line and forced another turnover but SUNY New Paltz gave possession right back on a picked pass, settled on 7-v-7. The hosts luckily went unscathed in the sequence themselves, as the ensuing free position rang off the cross bar with the score holding at 2-1. Junior defender Amy Whitman picked up the loose ball off the pipe and started her team the other way leading to a laser of a goal from freshman midfielder Samantha Gemmo to push the lead to 3-1 at the end of the first.
 
 
The Blue Devils cut into the deficit scoring with three seconds left on the shot clock as the Hawks were in their man down zone. Lexi Atwater re-upped the advantage, however, as Katie Picarello worked to win the ball back within her offensive side with Atwater taking advantage on a feed from Padilla. SUNY New Paltz scored two quick goals off the draw, first on an Atwater win before scoring on a slip underneath off a pass from Picarello. Gemmo won the ensuing draw control, ripping down a one-handed draw off the circle before finishing on the slow break to pad the cushion, 6-2 with still 10 minutes to go in the half.
 
Picarello added to the run, as she scored on consecutive free position goals. Wohlmut helped on a turnover on one end, sliding on a drive by the Blue Devils to jar the ball loose. The Hawks then cleared and Picarello became the benefactor, pushing the lead to 8-2.
 
Fredonia ended the goalless stretch, as it caught SUNY New Paltz is shooting space with 20 seconds left in the half and scored on the 8-meter to cut the difference to five at halftime.  
Whitman then put her stamp in the second half. On the opening possession for the Blue Devils, she snuck her stick into the passing lane and picked the ball off and quickly started her team the other way, leading to an Ava Padilla goal. Whitman then picked up her team again after they were hit with a green card, once again reading the play in the middle of the defense and slyly intercepting another pass before running the ball down which led to a nice feed from Padilla to freshman midfielder Alex DiRusso. DiRusso ripped down the pass and painted the top corner for the highlight goal, pushing the lead to 11-3 with about six minutes left in the quarter.
 
The Hawks defense then stood in again after Wohlmut was given an unfortunate yellow as she got tied up with her man. The Hawks were then caught offsides forcing two men down, but their defense bunkered down and forced a tough shot, resulting in a turnover. Once Wohlmut was released from the box, she helped her team transition down with Atwater scoring off a look from DeLucca, still man-down, to push the advantage to 12-3 entering the fourth.
 
Padilla and Atwater led the offense, as the former totaled one goal and five assists, while the latter finished with a game-high five goals while adding two ground balls and four draw controls. Gemmo was also crucial in the midfield, totaling a career-high two goals with three draws. Whitman was the catalyst defensively for the Hawks, as the junior captain totaled a career-high seven ground balls — which ranked tied for third most in single game program history — while also matching a career-high with a game-high four caused turnovers.
 
SUNY New Paltz returns to SUNYAC action Tuesday, going on the road to face Potsdam at 4 p.m.
 

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