Box Score New Paltz, NY – The State University of New York at New Paltz field hockey team avenged their 1-0 loss to SUNY Geneseo in last season's SUNYAC Tournament semifinal round with a 4-2 victory over the Knights on Saturday afternoon. The win marks the Hawks' ninth victory in their past 11 matches against SUNY Geneseo, including SUNYAC Tournament match ups.
 
"Today we came out and played a full 70 minutes to our full potential," SUNY New Paltz head coach Shanna Szablinski said. "We really focused on possession and denying opportunities in their passing lanes. Our motto today was 'be first to the ball' and we really stepped up and played hard today."
 
Senior Justine O'Reilly notched a hat trick for the second consecutive game to conclude the Hawks' 2-0 weekend with eight goals. O'Reilly now has 11 goals on the season, the most in the SUNYAC.
 
She scored the first goal of the game at the 1:53 mark to give SUNY New Paltz an early 1-0 lead. That score would stand until the 26^th minute when senior Hayley Kim lifted a ball into the air from beyond the circle and junior Samantha Ackerman chopped it in for nifty goal to make it 2-0.
 
SUNY Geneseo got on the board at the 29:12 mark when senior Giovanna Fasanello recorded her sixth goal of the season. The 2-1 score stood through halftime.
 
The Knights were awarded a penalty shot in the 38^th minute, which Fasanello took and successfully shot past senior Megan Gangewere to tie the game at 2-2.

Following the two-all stalemate, O'Reilly came up big for the Hawks again. Her shot was initially saved by freshman Mia Ludwig, but the deflection went to freshman Renee Salerno who put another attempt on net, which fell in front of O'Reilly. She then smacked in SUNY New Paltz's third goal to give her team back the advantage. 
 
O'Reilly put the icing on the cake with just 10 seconds left when she charged through multiple SUNY Geneseo defenders and recorded her third goal of the game.
 
"Geneseo is a very disciplined and skilled team and they are very tough to beat," Szablinski said. "It was a total team effort today from the sideline to the field. Discipline from circle to circle was key to our success today."
 
The Hawks out-shot the Knights 17-14 and held a 13-5 advantage in penalty corners.
 
Gangewere made 10 stops in the cage to increase her season total to 87.
 
"We didn't get off to the start we had hoped for," SUNY Geneseo head coach Jess Seren said. "They got two quick ones on us. I was proud of the way we fought back, it showed a lot of character in our team and it is definitely a positive to build on."
 
Knights freshman Kelly McKeveny, the younger sister of the Hawks' all-time leader in goals and points Kayla McKeveny '17, made her first appearance on the same field her older sister called home from 2013-16.
 
The victory marked the 99^th win for Szablinski in her ninth season as head coach. She looks for her 100^th career victory when the Hawks continue SUNYAC play and host SUNY Oneonta on Wednesday, Sept. 27 at 4 p.m. on the North Turf Field. 

For updates, highlights, videos, recaps and more be sure to follow @nphawks on Twitter and @newpaltzhawks on Facebook and Instagram.