NEW PALTZ, NY – Top-seeded New Paltz scored a pair of second-half goals, and earned a 2-0 victory over the Cortland women's soccer team in the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) Finals on Saturday afternoon. New Paltz improves to 15-2-2 and earns the conference's automatic berth into the NCAA Division III tournament, while Cortland falls to 11-4-4 with the defeat. 
 
Piper Klammer (Mahopac), Simone Neivel (Baldwinsville/C.W. Baker), and Julia DeTurris (Hicksville) each had a shot on target for the Red Dragons, while Kristen Spendal (Dumont, NJ) made five saves in goal for Cortland. 
 
Brooke Kelleher and Parris Burke both scored once for New Paltz, while Mia Baldinger added an assist. Maddie Franklin stopped all three shots she faced for the shutout. 
 
Klammer, Spendal, and Katie Cosenza (Stony Brook/Ward Melville) were named to the All-Tournament Team for their performances in the semifinals and finals. 
 
The first half was scoreless for both sides, as Spendal was forced into making a pair of saves, while Cortland managed just one shot on goal by DeTurris, which Franklin was able to stop. The Red Dragons did have the only corner kick of the half, but weren't able to score on that chance. 
 
After nearly 20 minutes went by in the second half without a shot on target from either side, New Paltz broke free for the game-winning goal, as Burke found the back of the net off of Baldinger's feed. 
 
In the 75th minute, the Red Dragons received a red card and New Paltz was awarded a penalty kick as well. Kelleher knocked in the spot kick to make it 2-0.
 
Down a player for the final 15 minutes, Cortland tried to muster up a comeback, but was only able to manage one more shot on goal by Neivel in the 88th minute, which Franklin saved. 
 
Following the contest, Cortland's Keara Johnson (Mount Hope/Minisink Valley) was honored as the conference's Elite 20 winner. The SUNYAC Elite 20 award, modeled after the NCAA ELITE 90 program, recognizes the true essence of the student-athlete by honoring the individual who has reached the pinnacle of competition at the conference championship level in his or her sport, while also achieving the highest academic standard among his or her peers.
 
Johnson is a junior physical education major with a 3.96 overall GPA.
 
The full All-Tournament Team is below:
Grace Auer, Fredonia
Katie Sellers, Fredonia
Shannon Lowney, Oneonta
Keira Dashnow, Oneonta
Katie Consenza, Cortland
Piper Klammer, Cortland
Kristen Spendal, Cortland
Mia Balinder,New Paltz)
Maddie Franklin, New Paltz
Hannah Wellinger, New Paltz
MVP - Rachel Eisert, New Paltz
 
New Paltz 2, Cortland 0
Scoring Summary (Goals-Assists):
Cortland: none
New Paltz: Parris Burke 1-0, Brooke Kelleher 1-0, Mia Baldinger 0-1

Halftime: Cortland 0, New Paltz 0
Shots: New Paltz 10, Cortland 10
Corner Kicks: Cortland 5, New Paltz 3
Saves: Kristen Spendal (Cortland) 5 saves (2 GA in 90:00); Maddie Franklin (New Paltz) 3 saves (0 GA in 90:00)

Records after game: Cortland (Red Dragons) 11-4-4, New Paltz (Hawks) 15-2-2