Box Score

POUGHKEEPSIE, NY (October 5, 2010) – Playing in a steady rain kept the Vassar College-SUNY New Paltz field hockey game lodged in a battle of the midfield, but when the rain subsided, the visiting Hawks scored two goals in a 2:08 span of the first half to help secure what would become a 3-1 victory over the Brewers at a soggy Weinberg Field on Tuesday afternoon.

Vassar drops to 2-9 on the season and will open Liberty League play on Friday hosting Skidmore College at 4:00 p.m. SUNY New Paltz improves to 6-5 and will travel to Montclair State for a 7:00 p.m. game on Friday evening.

Slick and rainy conditions made for a deadlock for the first ten minutes of the cross-river rivalry, as both teams packed defenders in the crease, making for difficult through passes and shots on goal.

The Hawks were able to crack the scoreless deadlock at 26:18 when junior forward Maryana Organidis got her stick on a through ball that was set up by senior defender Alyssa Finch. The game's first tally off Vassar freshman goalie Maggie Brelis provided the Hawks with momentum and confidence. SUNY New Paltz would score 2:08 seconds later,at 28:26, taking a 2-0 lead when freshman midfielder Stacey Miller scored her first career goal off a deflected shot.

The Brewers got on the board with five minutes left in the half when senior midfielder Madeline Rooney used strong stick handling and ball control to slip her shot past Hawks freshman goalie Antonija Pjetri on the right side, cutting the New Paltz lead to 2-1.

The Brewers controlled play in the first ten minutes of the second half, getting their best chance to tie the game at the 26 minute mark. A succession of shots by senior midfielder Jessica Lance and junior midfielder Emily Maier were both capably stopped by Pjetri, and one last effort by Maier went wide of the cage. Lance had three shots in the game, Maier had four.

Four minutes after that flurry of activity, New Paltz got an insurance goal from senior forward Sarah Schloss, who carried the ball on a breakaway and rifled a shot from the arc past Brelis. It was Scholoss' fifth goal of the season and her 69th career point, making her the all-time points leader in school history.

The Brewers held a 12-8 advantage in shots, with Pjetri making seven saves, five in the second half, and Brelis one. New Paltz held a 9-5 edge in penalty corners.