Box Score New Paltz, NY – The State University of New York at New Paltz field hockey team fell to No. 16 Skidmore College by a score of 2-0 on Tuesday afternoon at the North Turf Field. This was SUNY New Paltz's fourth match against a nationally ranked opponent this season.
The Hawks drop to 4-9, while the Thoroughbreds improve to 9-4.
"We always look forward to playing New Paltz," Skidmore coach Beth Hallenbeck said. "They're fast and feisty and never give up. We knew, even with a 2-0 lead going into halftime that we were going to have to battle. Sure enough, they came out really strong in the second half and had to make us work for the win."
The Thoroughbreds opened the scoring in the 23
rd minute when senior Caroline Saros knocked in a deflection from Kayla Rose to make it a 1-0 game. Skidmore doubled its lead less than three minutes later when freshman Sarah Winters scored off a helper from senior Seeley Fancher.
SUNY New Paltz's defense held strong in the second half and did not allow another goal, but unfortunately the offense could not break through and the Hawks were shutout for just the third time this season.
"We have to be able to capitalize inside the circle and take more chances," SUNY New Paltz coach
Shanna Szablinski said. "When they scored two goals on us, we realized that we need to step up and deny their passes. Megan [Gangewere] did a tremendous job in the cage as she made some key saves. We had chances to come back, but we need to capitalize on our chances more."
The Thoroughbred out-shot the Hawks 23-3 and held an 11-7 advantage in penalty corners. Senior
Justine O'Reilly had two of SUNY New Paltz's shots, while senior
Hayley Kim recorded the other.
Senior
Megan Gangewere tallied 13 saves on the afternoon, giving her 154 on the season which now ranks first in the SUNYAC.
The Hawks will next resume conference play when they travel to SUNY Oswego on Friday, Oct. 20 for a 4 p.m. matchup. SUNY New Paltz currently sits third in the SUNYAC with a 3-1 record in conference play, while the Lakers are second with a 2-0 SUNYAC record. The Hawks have not lost to Oswego since the 2008 season.
