After claiming the SUNYAC title in 2011, SUNY New Paltz’s Women’s Soccer team missed the goal in 2012.
With their double overtime loss to SUNY Fredonia on Oct. 27, the Hawks failed to make it to the semifinals. The match was 2-1 in favor of the Hawks, but in the final moments Fredonia tied it up. Two overtimes passed without a goal.
The loss came on a penalty kick shootout, which the Hawks lost 3-2. The two goals in regulation were scored by Chelsea Weir and Samantha Abravanel, respectively.
The Hawks came into the SUNYAC playoffs as the No. 6 seed, losing three out of their last four contests. They started out the season winning or tying 11 of their first 14 matches.
Despite their late season struggles, they managed to lock up the final seed for tournament play with a 4-4-1 intraconference record.
For some members of the team, the playoff loss was their last game in a New Paltz uniform. This includes Abravanel, a fourth-year forward, who set multiple program records this year including single season points, career points and career assists.
Abravanel also became the first New Paltz women’s soccer player this season to win SUNYAC Offensive Player of the Week honors, winning the award for the week ending on Oct. 28.
Even with the records and the awards, winning is the ultimate achievement, and it hurts when it is taken away so quickly, Abravanel said.
“It feels as if the victory was stolen from us because of the late goal they scored with only about a minute and ten seconds to go,” Abravanel said. “Unfortunately, that’s the game though. It doesn’t always seem fair.”
Another key departure includes goalkeeper Stephanie Vega, who set the program record for most single-season shutouts with eight.
Despite all of the individual accolades, Head Coach Colleen Bruley said she knows those honors come secondary to the team.
“The records are of course great, but I know both Sam and Vega would give those up in a second to still be playing,” Bruley said. “Team is first and if we could have traded those records to get through the last minute of the last game with a win, I know both of them would give them up.”
For others, this is only the beginning of their career as a Hawk. Weir, a first-year forward, had a noteworthy first season scoring seven goals and ranked third on the team with 16 points. She said the example set by the graduating players resonated with her.
“They all fought until the end in each game and during each practice, and this showed me that I had to do the same,” Weir said. “I knew I could never give in because they never gave in.”
Zach Higgins