CORTLAND, N.Y. – New Paltz scored twice in the final six minutes of regulation to tie the game and the Hawks eventually defeated Cortland, 5-4, after winning a penalty shootout in the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) Field Hockey title game at the SUNY Cortland Stadium Complex.

New Paltz (13-8) wins the SUNYAC crown for the second straight season, with both titles coming versus Cortland in penalty shootouts. The Hawks earn an automatic berth into the NCAA Div. III playoffs with the win. Cortland (14-3), ranked 14th nationally, had its 11-game winning streak come to an end. The Red Dragons will await a potential NCAA at-large berth. The NCAA tournament field will be announced on NCAA.com either Sunday night or Monday morning.

(UPDATE - Nov. 10 - Cortland was not selected to compete in the NCAA tournament and finishes the season with a 14-3 record.)

Trailing 4-2, New Paltz started its rally on a goal by Lauren Link, assisted by Danielle Conklin, with 5:36 remaining. The Hawks tied the game on Kayla McKeveny's goal with 3:32 left. The teams played 30 scoreless minutes over two sudden-victory overtime periods to send the game to the penalty shootout.

The shootout started with a mandatory set of five attempts by each team. Cortland made two of its first three shots, while New Paltz made only one. On the fourth attempt, New Paltz missed, but Cortland failed to convert on what could have been the game winner. The Hawks then scored to stay alive, and Cortland missed and the shootout was tied at 2-2.

The shootout then went to a sudden-victory format. Both teams scored in the first round and missed in the second and third rounds. In the fourth round, Cortland failed to score, and New Paltz won when Dani Ackerman converted her attempt.

New Paltz grabbed a 1-0 lead in the ninth minute of the game on a goal by Ackerman, assisted by Alyssa Stock, but Cortland tied the game on Gabrielle Stein (Endwell/Maine-Endwell) goal in the 20th minute, set up by Alexa Sanzone (Rome/Rome Free Academy). The Red Dragons grabbed a 2-1 lead on a Jillian Vogl (Cazenovia) goal in the 28th minute, off an Erin Smith (Greene) assist, but the Hawks knotted the game 3:10 before halftime when Jessica Caruana scored, assisted by Danielle Conklin.

Cortland scored twice in the first 18 minutes of the second half to go up 4-2. Smith scored an unassisted goal in the 50th minute and Sanzone tallied off an Emmajean Speer (Cazenovia) pass in the 53rd minute.

Cortland finished the game with a 22-20 advantage in shots, including a 9-0 edge in the second overtime. Antonija Petri made 10 saves for the Hawks, and New Paltz also registered three defensive saves – two by Madeliene Forrester and one by Sarah Sansone. Forrester's second defensive save came with 13 seconds left in the second overtime.

For the Red Dragons, Mairead Hourihan (Yorktown Heights/Lakeland) made seven saves during regulation and the overtime periods. Chelsea Palma (Holbrook/Sachem North) played in goal during the penalty shootout.


New Paltz 5, Cortland 4 (2 OT, pen. shootout 4-3)

Scoring Summary (Goals-Assists):
New Paltz: Lauren Link 1-0, Dani Ackerman 1-0, Jessica Caruana 1-0, Kayla McKeveny 1-0, Danielle Conklin 0-2, Alyssa Stock 0-1, (one team goal awarded for winning penalty shootout)
Cortland: Erin Smith 1-1, Alexa Sanzone 1-1, Jillian Vogl 1-0, Gabrielle Stein 1-0, Emmajean Speer 0-1

Halftime: Cortland 2, New Paltz 2
End of regulation: Cortland 4, New Paltz 4
Shots: Cortland 22, New Paltz 20
Penalty Corners: New Paltz 14, Cortland 10
Saves: Antonija Pjetri (New Paltz) 10 (4 GA in 100:00); Mairead Hourihan (Cortland) 7 (4 GA in 100:00)

Record after game: New Paltz (Hawks) 13-8; Cortland (Red Dragons) 14-3 (ranked 14th nationally in Div. III)

Penalty Shootout summary:

NP – Danielle Conklin – Missed
CORT – Erin Smith – Made
NP – Lauren Link – Made
CORT – Sara O'Brien – Missed
NP – Alyssa Stock – Missed
CORT – Emily Woods – Made
NP – Dani Ackerman – Missed
CORT – Brittany Murphy – Missed
NP – Jessica Caruana – Made
CORT – Jillian Vogl – Missed

(sudden-victory shootout)
CORT – Erin Smith – Made
NP – Danielle Conklin – Made
CORT – Sara O'Brien – Missed
NP – Lauren Link – Missed
CORT – Emily Woods – Missed
NP – Alyssa Stock – Missed
CORT – Brittany Murphy – Missed
NP – Dani Ackerman – Made

2013 SUNYAC Field Hockey All-Tournament Team:

Ashley Morgan (Oneonta)
Tess Tracy (Oneonta)
Kerry Hosford (Geneseo)
Kim Sherman (Geneseo)
Erin Smith (Cortland)
Jillian Vogl (Cortland)
Karly Vdoviak (Cortland)
Danielle Conklin (New Paltz)
Alyssa Stock (New Paltz)
Madeline Forrester (New Paltz)
MVP - Kayla McKeveny (New Paltz)