On Sept. 11, the men’s soccer team faced Vassar in their home opener and earned a shut out victory, making the Hawks’ record 4-1.
Both teams were battling it for possession in what was a highly defensive game. The match remained scoreless until the 27th minute, when fourth-year midfielder Coltan Goodwine passed up to third-year midfielder Kevin Doorley, who found the back of the net for the one and only goal of the game.
“I thought Wednesday was a good battle by our team, I was glad to be able to put us ahead in the first half but I also should have put some chances away in the second so I was disappointed that I couldn’t put the game to bed,” Doorley said. “We did a good job in the second half pressuring their team but need to be more clinical when trying to put the game away.”
The Hawks moved on to their second game of the week and faced the King’s College Lions this past Saturday at home. The game moved quickly, but the Hawks were unable to keep up with the momentum coming from their opponent and suffered a 3-2 loss, chalking their record up to 4-2.
“We are happy with the progress we have made so far in the first month of the season,” said Head Coach Kyle Clancy. “It is always a challenge to integrate the next class of new players into a new system and quickly get them up to the speed of play and familiar with our style. They have progressed well and while we are firing on all cylinders, we are making good progress.”
The Lions were first on the scoreboard, but it didn’t take long for Goodwine to answer, tying up the game 1-1. The Hawks went back to battling on defense, but the Lions broke through, scoring again to lead the Hawks 2-1. Second-year forward James Maltes found the net with an assist by Doorley, and helped to bring the Hawks within reach at 2-2.
The Hawks had to battle it out to keep their hopes of winning alive. They managed to total 13 shots on goal and five corners all within the last 30 minutes of the game. The Lions were able to find the net one last time to put the Hawks away in a very narrow loss, 3-2.
“I feel that we started out well with four shutouts this season, but we know that we still have a lot of work to do, especially on the attacking end to put away chances,” Maltes said. “I want the team this year to prove to everyone that New Paltz is a force to be reckoned with and perform to our best abilities to put games away.
“We’re looking forward to the challenge of SUNYAC play to hopefully get our first championship, but ideally to get a bid into the national tournament this year,” Maltes continued.
The Hawks hit the road and head to Farmingdale State to take on the 3-3 Rams this Saturday, Sept. 21 at 1 p.m.