Hawks Secure Third Seed in SUNYAC Men’s Soccer Tourney

NEW PALTZ, NY — Wednesday’s 2-1 win over SUNYIT secured the third-seed in the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) Tournament for the Hawks. SUNY New Paltz, who went 6-3 in league play this fall, will host sixth-seeded Buffalo State (5-4) on November 2 at 1:00 p.m.

The Bengals handed the Hawks one of their three conference defeats this fall. Buffalo State prevailed 2-1 over SUNY New Paltz in a game played in a steady rainfall on September 18 at Dietz Stadium in Kingston, NY. The Bengals will also take a three-game winning streak over the Hawks into this year’s opening round match-up.

Plattsburgh won the league’s regular season title and is the top-seeded team in the tournament. Geneseo used a 2-1 win over Brockport last Wednesday to claim the number two seed. SUNY New Paltz is 1-1 against the top two teams in the tournament. The Hawks lost 3-2 in double overtime to Plattsburgh on September 25 and defeated Geneseo 3-1 on October 2.

SUNY New Paltz will appear in the league’s annual tournament for the second consecutive year. In 2003, SUNY New Paltz went 4-4-1 in conference play and was seeded sixth in the tournament. The Hawks fell to third-seeded and eventual league champion SUNY Cortland.

The Hawks, 8-9 overall, will gear up for the SUNYAC Tournament with home games against SUNY Farmingdale (Oct. 23), Vassar (Oct. 27) and Mount St. Mary (Oct. 30).

2004 SUNYAC Men’s Soccer Tournament Tuesday November 2 (1:00 p.m.) – #6 Buffalo State at #3 SUNY New Paltz, #5 Brockport at #4 Fredonia.

Friday November 5 (11:00 a.m.) – Buffalo State/SUNY New Paltz winner vs. #2 Geneseo; Brockport/Fredonia winner vs. #1 Plattsburgh

Saturday November 6 (11:00 a.m.) — Championship Game.