PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – The Plattsburgh State women's lacrosse team got down early and couldn't rally on the offensive end as they dropped a State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) matchup against New Paltz, falling 18-1.

Sophomore midfielder Taya Balfour (Moorestown, N.J. / Moorestown) scored her first collegiate goal and was the Cardinals' lone scorer of the day. First-year defender Sloane Carr (Victor, N.Y. / Victor) came away with five ground balls and two caused turnovers on the defensive end. Senior defender Janey Adams (Wynantskill, N.Y. / Averill Park) also had two caused turnovers to pair with three draw controls. Sophomore defender Lillian Gilroy (Rome, N.Y. / Rome Free Academy) tied Adams with three draw controls on the day as well.

For the Hawks, Mia Baldinger and Morgan Atwater both led the team with eight points as Baldinger registered three goals and five assists and M. Atwater posted seven goals and one assist.

The Hawks outshot the Cardinals 43-10 and had the advantage in ground balls 30-20. The Cardinals had a slight edge in draw controls with 11 to the Hawks' 10. On free position shots, the Cardinals couldn't cash in on any opportunities as they were 0-3 while the Hawks were 2-6. On clears, the Cardinals were 12-22 and the Hawks were 14-18.

Plattsburgh moves to 2-7 overall (1-2 SUNYAC) and next travels to Geneseo on Saturday, Apr 6 with the first draw control in the air at 11 am. New Paltz moves to 10-0 overall (2-0 SUNYAC) and next travels to Fredonia on Saturday, Apr 6 with the first draw control in the air at 1 pm.

M. Atwater opened the first with a goal at the 12:24 mark followed by two goals from Lexi Atwater at the 9:17 and 7:36 mark as the Hawks opened up a 3-0 lead. Balfour got the Cardinals on the board at the 6:57 mark tallying an unassisted goal that made the score 3-1 Hawks. The Hawks closed the first with two goals and took a 5-1 lead into the second.

The Cardinals got three shots off in the second quarter but were outscored 5-0 by the Hawks, despite five turnovers for the Hawks. The Cardinals had a chance to get more points on the board on a free position attempt by Cynthia Barnosky (Shirley, N.Y. / William Floyd) at the end of the second but it was wide and the Cardinals went into halftime down 10-1.

The third quarter saw the Hawks tack on to their lead with four more goals. The Cardinals had three shots in this quarter, but none translated into any goals. After a foul, first-year attacker Abby Guasconi (Ogdensburgh, N.Y.) had a great chance with a free position shot but it was saved by the Hawks goalie as she shut out the Cardinals in the third quarter and the team took a 14-1 lead into the final quarter.

Kaitlyn Shaw led the Hawks' offense in the fourth scoring two of the four goals. The Cardinals' offense was quiet this quarter as they registered the lowest number of shots of all the quarters in the fourth with only one attempt that was saved as they were held scoreless and dropped an 18-1 decision.  

Graduate student goalie Lilla Nease (Lake Forest, Calif. / El Toro) finished the game with eight saves in net. Sophomore goalie Gabriella Tommaso and first-year goalie Piper Mascaros combined for five saves as Tommaso got the win in net for the Hawks.