This past weekend, the men’s soccer team faced off against SUNY Oswego on Friday, Oct. 22 and against SUNY Cortland on Saturday, Oct. 23.
On Friday, the Hawks took to Laker Turf Stadium in Oswego to face SUNY Oswego. The match began with a goal from Oswego at minute 11. The Hawks were determined and prepared, and didn’t let this early goal affect them. They began playing even more carefully to help attempt to win.
Shots were attempted from both sides, but it wasn’t until minute 49 that another goal was scored. First-year forward Gino Mazzella scored the Hawks’ first goal of this match. The score was 1-1, and the Hawks wanted to change that.
It was a tough match, with a great effort from all players. The score was at a standstill for the remainder of the first half. It wasn’t until minute 88 that the score changed.
Second-year defender Tim Kane scored with an assist from first-year midfielder Joseph DiPreta. Kane and DiPreta secured the win for the Hawks in this game, and the final score was 2-1, with the Hawks taking the win.
The Hawks felt confident after their win on Friday, and took to Holloway Field in Cortland to face SUNY Cortland. Both SUNY New Paltz and Cortland were nationally ranked teams entering the competition.
The game was a tough one for the Hawks, and they tried their best to keep a winning streak. At minute 17, SUNY Cortland scored after graduate student keeper Marc DePasquale made two saves. The Hawks still felt determined and kept their heads held high.
At minute 65, SUNY Cortland scored again, making the score of the game 2-0. The Hawks were unable to put any of their five shots on goal — compared to Cortland who put eight of 13 on frame.
“It was a tough loss, but we’re feeling confident,” Kane said. “Cortland is a great team, but looking back on it there were times where we were able to play around them and control the team. Looking back on the goals they scored, we were able to see that these were defensive errors, that when we can control, we can fix.”
This is a temporary setback for the Hawks, and allows them to see what they’re able to improve on for their next match. The Hawks are taking more time to really focus on how they want to play the game and what tactics help them to win.
The Hawks have now earned the second place spot in the SUNYAC regular season play, just behind the number one seed, Cortland. New Paltz will play next Wednesday, Nov. 3 at home, and their opponent is yet to be determined.
“This week of practices, we are going to look back at what we did wrong, we will work on it, and make it better,” Kane said.
