New Paltz, NY — The State University of New York New Paltz advanced to its third consecutive SUNYAC semifinal after holding on to a 9-8 quarterfinal win over No. 6 seed Buffalo State Saturday on North Turf Field.
 
The Hawks never trailed, but Buffalo State kept the game close throughout the afternoon with goalie Moira Penot playing big in net, making 15 saves on 21 shots faced.
 
SUNY New Paltz, like it has all season, was backed by a stout defensive performance collectively as it won its one-v-one man-matchups throughout the contest. The Hawks succumbed to just four goals in the run of play with the rest coming off free position attempts.
 
Lexi Atwater got the offense started for SUNY New Paltz, winning back-to-back draws leading to goals on consecutive possession, first by Katie Picarello as she earned a free position before burying the opportunity on the hash. Atwater then found space to get her first attempt to go and quickly built a 2-0 cushion for her side.  
 
Picarello tried for another with 10 minutes to play in the first, but her shot was stopped by Penot. The Bengals tried to clear, but Helena Willis hunted down the ball and forced a turnover on the ride with a back check and SUNY New Paltz capitalized on the semi-break as Ava Padilla fed Samantha DeLucca cutting through who buried the catch and finish to bring the lead to 3-0 with just less than nine minutes left.
 
Buffalo State scored its first of the afternoon on a free position after Kira Grzechowiak won the ensuing draw control for her side, but the Hawks answered to re-up the three-goal advantage before the end of the period. Baldinger worked hard to win the ball back on the ride after her initial shot was stuffed by Penot with the pressure forcing another Bengals turnover. Baldinger then picked up the loose ball and cleared allowing Willis to find Padilla for the goal to create a 4-1 advantage.
 
 
Buffalo State won the second quarter and brought the difference down to one after scoring off a free position attempt before capitalizing on its first goal settled. Grzechowiak found some space and got her side-arm shot to go as she fell to her right with her attempt bouncing past SUNY New Paltz goalie Piper Mascaros (three saves) for the score.  
The Hawks took advantage of a man-up opportunity after Atwater came down with the ensuing draw. Grzechowiak was handed a green on an empty check trying to win the ball back from Atwater in the circle. Baldinger was the beneficiary, as she slipped past her defender and moved Penot off her spot before scoring her 33rd of the year off the drive to re-up the two-goal advantage.
 
Buffalo State answered after senior defender Sam Wohlmut won the ball back defensively, sliding onto Emilee Josker and forcing a turnover that SUNY New Paltz pushed the other way. Atwater was on the doorstep, but Penot came up with another big save and in turn, quickly transitioned her team down field leading to a Grzechowiak goal with numbers the other way.
 
Allison Beattie scored her first of the game with less than four minutes left, painting the top corner for the goal off a feed from Samantha Gemmo, but Buffalo State earned one back before the half, as Vanessa Willick forced her way inside and earned a free position where she buried to cut the score, 6-5.
 
Beattie got the second half started stemming off draw control wins by Gemmo. Beattie took the matchup behind the crease and worked her way around the cage, firing a laser that dinged just inside the top pipe on back-to-back plays to push her team ahead, 8-5 two minutes into the third quarter.
 
However, the Bengals continued to stay steadfast and answered off the ensuing draw before getting within one once again after forcing a Beattie turnover on the defensive end.
 
SUNY New Paltz defense held onto the one goal game as the offense struggled finding the back of the net. Pressure by junior defender Amy Whitman forced the turnover with Wohlmut picking up the ground ball and getting the ball across for another chance on offense. Penot came up with the stop on a shot from Atwater, but Baldinger won the ball back immediately for another look at cage. Penot again made the stop and the Bengals earned another set on offense. Willick tried working around the crease isolated on Wohlmut, but the senior defender won the matchup and forced the turnover and picked up the ensuing ground ball to allow her team another chance on offense.  
The score stayed 8-7 until Baldinger finished on another with four minutes to go thanks to a failed clear and ground ball pickup from Whitman. The Bengals called a timeout and out of the break won the ensuing draw with Kaylee Cadez scoring on a free position attempt following a foul in the arc.
 
A huge draw followed in the one-goal game with less than three minutes left. Grzechowiak picked up the draw control, but Whitman was determined to win the ball back for her team and the junior captain did just that with good defense on Willick in the midfield, leading to a green card on Buffalo State's Isabella Shenandoah-Kurtz to re-set a new 90 as the game dwindled under two minutes. The Hawks milked the time remaining trying to work precious seconds as they held onto the lead. Shenandoah-Kurtz came out the box with about 30 seconds left on the game clock and was over-zealous trying to win the ball and was immediately whistled after hitting Gemmo with a check, resulting in a red card. SUNY New Paltz stayed man-up and held on from there for the win.   
 
The Hawks won the turnover battle, forcing 17 by Buffalo State while only succumbing just eight and were perfect on the clear, going 20-for-20 while Morrisville went 14-for-20. SUNY New Paltz also picked up more ground balls (15-12), but the Bengals held the advantage on the draw (12-8) and were a perfect 4-for-4 on free positions with the hosts going 1-for-6 on the hashes.
 
Beattie led the team with three goals, while adding a team-leading four ground balls with one caused turnover. Padilla and Baldinger each had two points to follow offensively with Baldinger adding two ground balls, three caused turnovers and two draws.
 
Whitman was the catalyst defensively, totaling four ground balls and a game-high five caused turnovers. Wohlmut followed as she produced two ground balls and two caused turnovers.
 
SUNY New Paltz's run for its first SUNYAC title continues Wednesday against No. 2 seed SUNY Cortland in the semifinal round. Game time is scheduled for 5 p.m. The winner will face either No. 1 Oswego or No. 4 Oneonta Saturday in the SUNYAC Championship final. 


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