KINGSTON, NY — Despite a hat trick by sophomore forward Kelly Proper (Red Hook, NY) the SUNY New Paltz field hockey team fell 5-3 to Drew University this evening at Dietz Stadium.
In a game that was played in a steady rainfall, Drew (2-1) took a 1-0 lead with 9:05 left in the first half when senior forward Ellen Balkovec (Lower Gwynedd, PA) deflected a shot by junior midfielder Brittany Westcott (Margate, NJ) into the cage. Balkovec, who also registered a hat trick, put the Rangers ahead 2-0 when she scored with 12 seconds remaining in the half.
Balkovec upped the Drew lead to 3-0 when she put home a pass from freshman forward Ryan Hoover (Dallas, PA) 10 minutes into the second half.
SUNY New Paltz (0-3) outshot Drew 7-5 in the second half and held a 9-3 advantage on penalty corners. Proper put the Hawks scored board with 24:10 remaining in the game, to cut the Drew lead to 3-1. Seven minutes later she deflected in a shot by junior midfielder Kate Schoonmaker (High Falls, NY) to pull the Hawks within one.
Westcott then provided Drew with some breathing room when she scored off a penalty corner with 10:42 to play to make it 4-2. Proper’s third goal of the game came with 3:15 remaining to once again pull the Hawks within one.
With 42 seconds to play, Drew cashed in on another penalty corner with Westcott firing a shot past SUNY New Paltz freshman goalie Courtney Redlein (Sayville, NY) to preserve the victory for Drew.
SUNY New Paltz will play the first of four straight road games on Saturday (Sept. 11) against the College of New Jersey at 3:00 p.m.
