The women’s soccer team is looking to bounce back after a stagnant series of two SUNYAC matchups on their home turf this past weekend.
The Hawks hosted the SUNY Geneseo Knights on Friday, Oct. 3 and suffered a 5-0 loss. This served as the team’s second shutout deficit in conference play.
The Knights held a two-point lead over the team by the end of the first half of the game after five shot attempts by New Paltz did not prevail. The second half of the game provided the win for the Knights with three more goals in the 52nd, 54th and 88th minutes. First-year goalkeeper Katelyn Cordero notched four saves for the Hawks during her 56-minute reign in the net, while teammate first-year Ashley Rivera notched two.
The following day on Saturday, Oct. 4 the Hawks tied the College at Brockport Golden Eagles, 2-2.
Fourth-year defender Bryce Kristall opened the 24th minute by heading in a corner kickgoal that put New Paltz in the lead. Third-year midfielder Kristina Gandolfo assisted on the goal. The Golden Eagles caught up just before the end of the first half, tying the score 1-1.
Fourth-year captain Eleni Anselmi found the back of the net in the 81st minute on a breakaway to give the Hawks a 2-1 lead. Five minutes later, fourth-year forward Cayli Carmona tied the game for Brockport at two apiece.
The game went into a 10-minute overtime period and a shootout. New Paltz won the shootout 4-2, coming out of the weekend with one point.
The Hawk’s spirit and dynamics on the field from the first game to the second was very distinct, Head Coach Colleen Bruley said. To see this drastic change in the team’s attitude from the complete shutout to matching up to a tie was very positive, she said.
“On Friday, we didn’t come to play and we made the other team look a lot better than they were,” she said. “Every single goal that we gave up could have been prevented [but] came out of the game playing really, really hard on Saturday. That was against a very good team as well so that just showed [the team] the level of commitment that they need to show when they step on the field. They didn’t have it on Friday. And on Saturday, it was a completely different story.”
Anselmi agreed and said that the team’s approach to the game really improved by the following day when they took on the Golden Eagles.
“A completely different team came out to play Saturday against Brockport,” she said. “You could feel it throughout the team that something was different and we were ready to prove to everyone that the team that played Friday wasn’t the team that we know we are. Although we were disappointed with only receiving one point for the weekend, we learned a lot and proved to ourselves that when we put our minds to it we are capable of great things.”
After having a rather inconsistent season thus far, Bruley said reaching that critical point of balance and performing equally as well from game to game is the team’s main focus for the end of the season.
“There’s certain players that do well and maybe struggle the next day so we’re looking for that consistency as a whole team,” she said. “I think when we get that, then good things can happen. There’s still time for that.”
Cordero said the team is looking to play their hardest to honor the fourth-year teammates who will be completing their final season with the Hawks in the upcoming month. This weekend, she said, the fourth-years helped to raise everyone’s spirits after their loss to Geneseo and put “everything on the line” for a win.
“It’s their final season – and they deserve to win and for everyone to give 100 percent on the field which is certainly what we did on Saturday,” she said. “We played with our hearts and left everything out on the field.”
With only five more games until the SUNYAC tournament begins, Bruley said the team is looking to finish out each game strong and push their record further.
“Right now, we need wins to get to three points,” Bruley said. “If we come out and play like we did against Brockport and we can finish the game, then I know we can be successful. It’s just a matter of them coming out and doing it.”
With an overall record of 6-5-2, the Hawks complete their series of home SUNYAC matchups against Plattsburgh this Friday, Oct. 10 and Potsdam on Saturday, Oct. 11.
