New Paltz, NY - The State University of New York at New Paltz field hockey closed out the regular season with a gritty performance against one of the best programs in the country in the No. 18 Vassar Brewers.
On a night where they celebrated their nine seniors, the No. 19 ranked Hawks were backed by a strong performance from their veteran class, including senior back Kayla Ahern and senior goalie Ryan Dowling, to come away with a 2-1 double overtime, shootout victory over the Brewers.
"Throughout the game our defense held strong," said SUNY New Paltz coach Shanna Szablinski. "Ryan came up with some key saves while Kayla broke up any fast breaks. We just played composed while under pressure and that made a significant difference in our transition attack."
The game was scoreless through the first 30 minutes, but Vassar held the advantage in attacking opportunities. The Brewers totaled six shots in the first half and five corners, while SUNY New Paltz struggled to get the ball past the visitors press to create anything dangerous in their offensive end. Szablinski regrouped her team at halftime and the Hawks started splitting the Brewers press in the second half which resulted in more of an offensive game from that point forward.
"We tweaked our 16's and held the ball longer until the splits were there," Szablinski said. "Our forwards also made better cuts to the ball, and we released quicker so we can break their press."
Vassar got on the board first, however, with Heidi Zahnleuter finishing on a pass from Hailey Brigger just three minutes into the second half, but SUNY New Paltz didn't take long to respond. Five minutes later, Natasia Plunkett scored her ninth goal of the season off a penalty corner, assisted by senior Jessica Ascencao.
With the game tied, Dowling stepped up to make three huge saves to finish out regulation and force overtime. Extra time was evenly matched with the Brewers totaling four shots in the first OT and two in the second, while the Hawks fired one shot in the first overtime and put four on goal in the second, and earned four more penalty corners. Both defenses held firm and ultimately the game went into 1-v-1 shootouts.
Each team missed their first and third attempts, while making their second tries. Hannah Ackerman stepped up as SUNY New Paltz's fourth shooter and put away her attempt with Dowling making the save on the next Vassar attempt. Plunkett ended the game with the Hawks' final score, finalizing her team's 14th win of the year.
Plunkett led the way with four shots, two on goal, followed by Ackerman and Ascencao who each had three. Dowling played the full 80-plus minutes and totaled 11 saves. Ascecncao, Ahern and senior Courtney Kruzikas each tallied a defensive save in the game.
With the regular season over, SUNY New Paltz enters postseason play Wednesday as the top seed in the SUNYAC Tournament. Its first game is Wednesday in a semifinal matchup against Oneonta on the North Turf Field.
At 14 wins thus far, the Hawks are just two wins away from matching a program record in victories and they've already set a mark of the least losses conceded with their best overall record coming in 2012 when they finished 16-5.
The victory over the Brewers also marks the fourth over a regionally ranked opponent.
"Every win is important, but at this point of the season it helps build our belief in our abilities," Szablinski said. "Confidence continues to make us more hungry going into playoffs."
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