New Paltz, NY — The State University of New York (SUNY) at New Paltz women's lacrosse team earned a 19-7 win over Hartwick College Saturday on the North Turf Field Saturday to collect its second-straight victory.  
 
In the Hawks versus Hawks rivalry match, Hartwick was the first to get on the board. In the first minute of the game, junior attacker/midfielder Ginamarie Wilson found the back of the net for the first and only time during the competition on a free position shot. Hartwick served SUNY New Paltz a lot of pressure early on, yet the Hawks answered quickly. 
 
Within the first six minutes of play, SUNY New Paltz junior attacker Tara Bovich received a pass from sophomore attacker Maddy Carullo and then ripped a shot in the cage, successfully getting the Hawks in the game. Hartwick and SUNY New Paltz went goal for goal until about halfway through the first half, when the the hosting Hawks began to break away. 
 
Carullo scored her first goal of the game after a pass from Katie Zito and continued her momentum on attack from then on. Carullo led the team in points against Hartwick with six goals and three assists. Her performance truly exemplified the type of play SUNY New Paltz's attack has been trying to generate since their first game of the season. 
 
"I think the attack made it very difficult for [Hartwick] to key on certain players and Maddy was the beneficiary of that," said Hawks coach Keith Detelj. "She did a great job making the right decision at the right moment and you know that's somebody that we expect to do that and she really stepped up today."
 
SUNY New Paltz's offense was a force against their opponents and worked as a unit to break down Hartwick's defense. Seven different players for SUNY New Paltz contributed in two or more points throughout the entirety of the game and the chemistry between them was undeniable. 
 
"I think they played with a lot of confidence and they really decided to set each other up to succeed as much as possible on both ends you know," Detelj said. "...Between the rides and the clears and the settled defense and our offense kind of starting to click. [It] is a good time to do it after we worked really hard in trying to set them up for that" 
 
And click they did. In the second half of the game, the Hawks exploaded for 11 goals and the change in momentum and cohesiveness from the first to second half was clear.
 
"We didn't really change anything. We kind of just said we need to be more organized and disciplined to our game plan." Carullo said, "We worked really hard the days before in practice on their offense and defense so we really knew what they were going to do and what we needed to do so we just kinda like talked about it, figured it out, and went out there and did our game plan."
 
The success of the SUNY New Paltz offense was only made possible by the contributions from each player. As a unit the Hawks strove to move the ball consistently, find each other in passes and communicate efficiently so as to not waste time in the key.
 
In the game prior, SUNY New Paltz defeated St. Joseph's College Long Island 16-11 yet, was ultimately disappointed with their performance. The Hawks' goal going into their match against Hartwick was to simply keep improving the controllables and to support each player in finding their rhythm.  
 
"Just a little bit more cohesiveness and I think that comes with just some experience for younger players in playing regular season games and just them feeling more comfortable where they fit and I think the upperclassmen have done a good job at supporting everybody and making sure we're together strong," said Detelj. 
 
This season, SUNY New Paltz introduced eight new players to the roster who all contribute talent and energy to the team. The success generated from the underclassmen though is only made possible by their senior. 
 
"The game went really well," Carullo said. "The past two games we didn't work as well as a team as we really could have but this past game we worked really well together and it was really exciting because it felt really good to come out on top."
 
The Hawks face four non-conference opponents and compete in an additional nine conference-games before they prepare for postseason play. Next on the schedule is Stockton University (2-0 overall). SUNY New Paltz is prepared to feed off of its victory Saturday over Hartwick as it moves forward into its season.
 
"I think it's great momentum moving forward towards Stockton who is gonna be a tough opponent." Detelj said. "And then you know, we want to make sure that we close the gap against teams that are athletic like us. So, it'll be a good challenge." 

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