The Lady Hawks took flight at the Utica Invitational on Aug. 29 and 30, overtaking Utica College, 4-1 and shutting out St. Lawrence University, 2-0.
Second-year midfielder Morgan Gunter did not waste any time, and got a shot off of a rebound at 8:44. Third-year Carly Croteau followed at 10:06 with another goal, putting the Hawks up 2-0. With only one shot on goal for the Pioneers in the first quarter, New Paltz took charge.
After two more saves by Hawks’ goalie Ryan Dowling to start the second quarter, Utica still fell short, and allowed a goal from first-year Natasia Plunkett, assisted by Croteau at 17:42.
At 24:28, third-year midfielder Jeslyn Files got a shot into the net for the Pioneers, assisted by third-year forward Sabrina Whitehouse and fourth-year defender Ricki Haab.
Through the stagnant third quarter, New Paltz maintained a 3-1 lead over Utica going into the fourth.
Only three minutes into the final quarter, second-year Jessica Ascencao hit the final shot for New Paltz (47:55), assisted by first-year Julia Cummings, ending game one for the season with a 4-1 win for the Lady Hawks.
Although their season opener was over, the Hawks still had a second game for the weekend, this time, against the St. Lawrence Saints.
New Paltz shot 16 times on goal against the Saints by the time the fourth quarter rolled around.
The Hawks, however, weren’t allowing this game to go into overtime.
Croteau ended the scoring standstill at 46:22, with an 8-yard shot after cutting in from the right of the endline. Gunter followed suit at 54:03, securing the 2-0 lead for the Hawks with about six minutes of gameplay left.
A final shot attempt by SLU second-year midfielder Maggie Green at 59:56 went wide, and New Paltz officially clinched their second win of the season.
After the sweep at the Utica Invitational to start their season, women’s field hockey fell short this past Wednesday to Montclair State.
At 14:17, after both teams took multiple shots on goal, third-year forward Elizabeth Cimilluca shot the first and only goal of the game for the Montclair Red Hawks.
In the second quarter, the Red Hawks did not have any shots on goal. However, they defended New Paltz against four shots in the 15-minute quarter. The next two quarters remained uneventful, leaving New Paltz to fall 1-0.
The Hawks are back in action this Saturday against St. John Fisher.
