The New Paltz Field Hockey team has continued to dominate. On Wednesday, Sept. 22, the Lady Hawks traveled to Troy and served RPI a 3-0 loss in an under the lights game. Shortly after that, on Saturday, they faced their first conference matchup of the season: Brockport.
The star of the Rensselaer game was second-year forward Morgan Woolley who had a part in all three goals in the game. During period one, she scored her fourth goal of the season, assisted by fourth-year midfielder Jessica Ascencao. Approximately 20 minutes into period two, Woolley was there again to assist third-year forward Natasia Plunkett’s goal. Finally, in period three, Woolley scored the last goal of the game all on her own.
The game had a large number of fouls, with New Paltz bringing in 46 and Rensselaer with a whopping 50. Additionally, New Paltz had a significantly larger amount shots attempted than their competition at 23-9 which definitely helped secure them the win.
“The whole team is feeling really good right now about our recent wins,” Ascencao said. “We’ve made some big adjustments over the last week and it’s clear that this growth is paying off in big ways on the field.”
New Paltz had a bit of pressure placed on them for the Brockport game due to wanting to preserve the Hawks’ winning streak dating back to 2009. Would they be able to win again?
During period one, many scoring attempts were made by fourth-year midfielder Shannon Bernhardt and second-year forward Hannah Ackerman, but the Eagle’s goalie, third-year Emma Acevedo, was standing strong and saving them. In period two, however, the Hawks got to business. At 23:33 third-year back Julia Cummings scored, assisted by Ascencao. With less than 15 seconds left in the period the Hawks scored again, this time from Bernhardt and Ascencao.
Ascencao said she is really happy to be back on the field after the canceled season due to COVID-19.
“Any way I can contribute to the success of this team feels amazing,” Ascencao said. “My assists in the last few games are an example of how well we are able to connect and how far we can go this season.”
The Hawks seemed to like getting goals in just under the wire, so at 43:27 in period three, Woolley and Ascencao scored. Finally, in the last period, fourth-year midfielder Morgan Gunter scored a goal, assisted by both Ackerman and first-year Amanda Quennville. Meaning, Brockport was taken down in a 4-0 sweep, extending New Paltz’s dominant winning streak against them.
On Saturday, Oct. 2 New Paltz is traveling to Oswego, and on Oct. 5 they are hosting Fairleigh Dickinson University. This team, now with an overall record of 6-1 with 1-0 in the conference, clearly has a lot to look forward to.
“As a team we are in a good place right now. We need to keep up this same intensity throughout SUNYAC play. We know our goals and we are focused everyday on the process to achieve them,” Ascencao said.
