New Paltz, NY — The State University of New York New Paltz lost its first conference game of the season Friday afternoon, falling to visiting Cortland 15-5.
 
The Hawks dropped to 7-4 overall and 3-1 in the SUNYAC, while the Red Dragons improved to 8-3 and 4-0, respectively.
 
SUNY New Paltz opened the game with a 2-0 lead following a man-up goal as Ava Padilla fed a cutting Mia Baldinger who reached for the pass high and quick sticked her 19th goal of the year three minutes into the game. The Hawks doubled down on the lead following a Lexi Atwater draw win, as Samantha Gemmo found Allison Beattie on a skip pass who shot through pressure to find the far corner for the goal.
 
SUNY New Paltz held onto the lead until the end of the quarter. Cortland had a near-chance to get on the scoreboard as it earned its first free position of the game, but defenders Amy Whitman and Maddy Luongo did well to crash in from the nearing hashes and jar the ball loose for the turnover as the ball popped into the stick of Piper Mascaros (two saves) in goal. The Hawks cleared successfully but couldn't get a shot off on the other side and a turnover allowed the Red Dragons another look at cage.
 
Cortland's first attempt was saved by Mascaros, but a ground ball pick up allowed a new shot clock with the visitors capitalizing as Bella Dembinski found Sierra Natoli on a cut for its first goal of the game on a quick-stick finish. The Red Dragons tied the score at 2-2 before the end of the first, stemmed off a throw away on a clear from Mascaros.
 
After a long way to clear, the Hawks had limited time on the shot clock as they crossed the restraining line but the patience in working the possession over was rewarded as Atwater found a 1-v-1 matchup and lasered a shot that pinged the inside pipe to re-up SUNY New Paltz's lead, 3-2.
 
Cortland started gaining traction after drawing consecutive fouls inside the arc, which led to two-straight free position goals as it earned its first lead at 4-3 with nine minutes to play.
 
The Red Dragons added two more to end the half. The first came off an intercepted pass with the Hawks anchoring in defensively as an initial shot rang off the post from Cortland, but again, the hosts struggled finishing the sequence on a ground ball pick up and the Red Dragons capitalized on a re-upped shot clock. They scored again on a slow-break off the draw to go into halftime with a 6-3 advantage.
 
Cortland scored man-up to start the second half following a green card to begin the third quarter. SUNY New Paltz's defense crashed well in its zone, but the ball snuck past Gabriella Tommaso (one save) in net on the bounce shot. The Hawks answered, though, as Whitman won the ball back for her team on a hard slide with Chiara Rutigliano picking up the ground ball to start the hosts on the break. The team settled and Atwater was the beneficiary off a pass from Ava Padilla to cut the score to 7-4 with 12 minutes to go.
 
Another green card off the draw helped the Red Dragons to another man-up goal and following another draw win, scored once again on the slow break to create a 9-4 deficit. Cortland kept on the run after another long set on offense, but Mia Baldinger revived some life for her team with about six minutes remaining in the quarter. On the ride, Baldinger pressured Red Dragons goalie Trinity Parks (two saves) who came out to clear, sneaking a back check for the turnover. Baldinger picked up the loose ball and finished on the empty net to cut the difference to five.  
The score remained at the end of the period with Whitman determined to keep her team in the game. She forced a turnover with about a minute left and got the Hawks started the other way, but the offense turned the ball right back over. Cortland cleared and was ready to hold onto possession until the time elapsed, but Whitman pressured out high and got the check off before picking up the ball to make sure her team held possession to start the fourth.

Atwater was checked in the face, resulting in a un-releasable yellow to begin the final 15 minutes, but SUNY New Paltz couldn't capitalize as Baldinger's attempt went just wide before Cortland forced a turnover by Atwater. The Hawks were handed another green in the midfield, evening the teams before another green on the defensive end led to a man-up 6-v-5 that brought the Red Dragons' lead to 11-5.
 
The sequence shot the hosts momentum and set the tone for the rest of the period. Cortland dominated on the circle and SUNY New Paltz continued struggling picking up loose balls with the Red Dragons holding long offensive stands resulting in four more goals. The Hawks offense stalled the rest of the way which solidified the 15-5 score.
 
SUNY New Paltz had 11 shots in the game, seven on goal, while Cortland had 24 and 15, respectively. The Red Dragons had slightly more turnovers, 26-25, but the game was won on the draw circle with Cortland touting 16 draws to five for the Hawks, while also garnering more ground balls, 26-20.
 
Atwater and Baldinger led the team offensively with two goals apiece. Atwater finished with three ground balls, one caused turnover and two draws. Baldinger totaled three ground balls, two caused turnovers and a draw control. Whitman, the reigning two-time SUNYAC Defensive Player of the Week, once again paced her team defensively, registering a career-high five caused turnovers with three ground balls. Luongo followed with a career-high three caused turnovers and five ground balls, with the latter category also leading the team.
 
SUNY New Paltz is back in action Wednesday, going on the road to face Oneonta at 4 p.m.


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