The lacrosse team snapped their three-game losing streak as they defeated Farmingdale State College 8-7 in a buzzer-beating win.
This victory on March 29 marked the Hawks’ first win over Farmingdale State since their 14-7, win over the Rams back on March 12, 2011.
Farmingdale State third-year midfielder Kristen Keller put one on the board with 2:40 remaining to tie the game at 7-7 in the close-fought matchup. However, after gaining possession, the Rams turned the ball over with 2:15 remaining.
The Hawks took control of the ball with a free-position opportunity and called a timeout. New Paltz let the clock wind down and that is when Hawks third-year co-captain Nicole Gottschalk netted the unassisted game-winner with 3.9 seconds remaining in the contest.
Third-year co-captain Melissa Wagner tallied a pair of goals for the Hawks. Third-year goalkeeper Colleen Roemer made 12 stops for New Paltz in the winning effort.
Previously, the Hawks dropped three games over spring break.
Gottschalk said she believes they are a better team than what they showed over their spring break trip, where the team accumulated over 20 hours of traveling.
“We were in a completely different atmosphere than most of us are used to, so we had to come together as a team to make up for the differences,” she said. “We all got to know each other on a deeper level, and that will carry over into our playing. It’s important that we keep this strong team bond because I believe it will benefit us especially when we head into our conference games. We are all very excited to prove ourselves in our next few games.”
To start off their spring break trip, the Hawks traveled to Memphis, Tennessee as they took on Oberlin College in a nonconference game on Monday, March 21.
The Yeowomen would take the game 15-7.
Oberlin would open the game netting three goals. Hawks second-year attacker Kelsey Aeberli and third-year midfielder Alexa Criollo would answer back. However, the Yeowomen would add on four more goals later in the half.
Going into the half, the Yeowomen took a 7-3 lead. They would score a pair of goals to open the second half to increase their lead to 9-4.
All but three goals in the contest were unassisted.
Individually, Gottschalk, Aeberli and Criollo all scored twice, while second-year Caitlyn Morris found the back of the net once.
For Oberlin, second-year midfielder Natalie Rauchle netted five goals, while third-year attacker Marissa Maxfield and fourth-year midfielder Grace Barlow added four apiece.
Less than a day later, the Hawks continued their Spring Break trip and dropped a 12-11 loss to Hendrix College in Conway, Arkansas.
The Hawks jumped out to an early 2-0 lead off goals from first-year midfielder Rachael Purtell and second-year attacker Allie Imperati.
Hendrix started the second half by scoring four unanswered goals to take its first lead of the contest at 9-6, but Gottschalk broke up the surge with an unassisted goal with 21:01 left on the clock.
Gottschalk led the New Paltz attack with four goals, while Purtell, third-year attacker Nicole Stackpole and Criollo netted two goals apiece. Imperati also scored for the Hawks. Purtell also recorded five ground balls, three caused turnovers and two draw controls.
For Hendrix, second-year attacker Bridget Umble led the way with five goals, while second-year midfielder Rilley Frazier added three.
New Paltz concluded their spring break trip back in Memphis with a 17-5 loss against Rhodes College.
Rhodes held the upper hand in shots (31-19), draw controls (14-10) and ground balls (20-16).
After Rhodes scored the first two goals of the game, Criollo closed the gap to one with a score just over a minute later. The Lynx then buried three goals before Criollo scored again midway through the first half. Rhodes closed the half with eight unanswered goals to enter the intermission with a 13-2 advantage.
The Hawks will next begin State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) play on Saturday, April 2 against SUNY Geneseo at noon on Knights turf. For the remainder of the season, New Paltz will only face conference teams.
Hawks third-year co-captain Nicole Petrullo said the team is taking what they have learned during their spring break trip and working on getting stronger as a group for conference play.
“Overall this trip has made the team realize what we need to work on harder,” she said. “We need to push ourselves and hold each other accountable to become a more successful team.”
