Box Score New Paltz, NY – As soon as Danielle Grossi laid off a pass to teammate Gabriela Cabello, she had no doubt the ball was heading into the back of the net. And, as it turned out, her intuition was correct. Cabello lofted her shot over the head of Buffalo State goalkeeper Taylor Carillo and into the far netting to seal the win for the State University of New York at New Paltz, 3-1, over the visiting Bengals Saturday.

"Right when I gave her the ball I knew it was going in," Grossi said. "Even though I knew she was at a tough angle, she's got a sick left foot and I can depend on her no matter what. She and I play great together, so when I slipped her that ball I just knew right off the bat."

Grossi, Cabello and fellow seniors, Katelyn Cordero, Julia Friedman, Jackie Donaldson-Hawkins, Monica Rouse and Shaye Alviene were all honored prior to the game in their final match of the season.

The Hawks (6-11-1 overall, 2-6-1 SUNYAC) took their emotion from Senior Day straight to the field, as they came out with lots of energy and matched Buffalo State's physicality.

Each team found early opportunities within their final third, but saw chances flying high and wide of frame.

SUNY New Paltz put the first point on the board in the 40^th minute after Jessica Levinson played a perfectly slotted through ball to Kaitlyn Connolly.

Connolly ran on to the pass, took it end line and won back possession from Buffalo State in time to find an open Monika Morasse waiting just atop the six-yard box. Morasse then one-timed her shot over the head of Carillo (four saves) for the opening goal.

"Buffalo State is a hard working team and I felt like our girls did well in the final third," said Hawks coach Mike Eckberg. "There was constant movement off the ball and our attack was dangerous at times and that was exciting. Overall it's obviously a great feeling to finish out the season this way."

The Bengals answered in the 72^nd minute after earning a corner on the far left side. Paige Bly swung a service back post to find the head of Victoria Colotti, who knocked in the equalizer.

However, SUNY New Paltz didn't get discouraged and quickly responded with a goal of its own.

Just three minutes after Buffalo State knotted the score, Raven Blake from her left back position received a pass and played in a cross in the middle of the box. The ball deflected off a defender and Cabello was there to take advantage. She found the loose ball and knocked a solid shot at Carillo, who got her hands on the attempt, but it wasn't enough to steer it away from frame, resulting in Cabello's fifth score of the year.

Three minutes later Cabello put away her sixth of the season and 10^th of her career with a little help from Grossi to finalize the 3-1 outcome.

"It's not about the score for us but honestly, this weekend we really pushed hard," Grossi said. "I think to say that we hadn't had a win in SUNYACs yet and this was our last weekend going into it, you know, even going practice this week everyone was still pushing even though we know we didn't make [playoffs] this year, but we still pushed. We still gave a fight and I think that says a lot about our character and a lot about our team."

Buffalo State (3-13-1 overall, 0-9 SUNYAC) held the edge on shots (17-13), but attempts on frame were even at seven apiece.

Cordero got the start in net and made three saves, while Angela Ratka came in for relief and also tallied three stops on the day.

"I think that again, this is just a great game to send off our seniors and it is a great game to build for the future," Eckberg said. "It's just really exciting individually and exciting as a team. I felt like well-deserved all around. The players get all the credit."

The Hawks improved immensely from a season ago, totaling five more wins than last year and also generated seven points in conference play, compared to none in 2016. And ultimately, they finished the year eighth in SUNYAC.  

For Grossi – and likely for the rest of the seven seniors – she said the win was bitter sweet.

"We were out here to have a good time, play for each other and play for our seniors. I couldn't be more proud of this team," she said. "Everybody is pushing each other. Everybody wants the best for each other and I'm just so proud of being a part of this program. To have made the friendships that I did and to be walking off the field with these girls, I love all of them. I am really, really proud of them."