SUNYAC CHAMPIONSHIP FIRST ROUND – #5 NEW PALTZ HAWKS AT #4 BUFFALO STATE BENGALS
Saturday, Oct. 28, 2023 – 1:00 PM
Coyer Field – Buffalo, NY
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TICKET INFORMATION
LIVE STATS
VIDEO (OFFICIAL SUNYAC BROADCAST)
THE MATCHUP… Fifth-seeded New Paltz heads into the SUNYAC Championship First Round against the fourth-seeded Buffalo State Bengals.
This will be the 35
th meeting between New Paltz and Buffalo State since 1990. The last time these two teams met in the SUNYAC Tournament was back in 2016 when the Bengals came away with a 2-0 victory in the SUNYAC Tournament First Round.
Buffalo State will be competing in the SUNYAC Tournament for the seventh time in the last eight seasons. Under Head Coach
Francesco Cardillo, the Bengals have reached the postseason in all but one season. Buffalo State has reached the SUNYAC Semifinals twice under Cardillo's tenure in 2019 and in 2021.
New Paltz will be competing in the SUNYAC Tournament for the fifth time since 2016 when Head Coach Kyle Clancy took over the program. Under Clancy, the Hawks have advanced to the SUNYAC Semifinals twice back in 2018 and 2021.
The Bengals hold a narrow 19-14-2 record against the Hawks. Prior to this season, Buffalo State had won five of the last six head-to-head matchups with last season resulting in a 1-1 draw. New Paltz snapped the Bengals streak earlier this season with a 2-0 victory back in September.
LAST TIME WE MET… The two sides met back in late September as the Hawks came away with a 2-0 victory on Coyer Field. Joseph DiPreta and Alex Wyant each scored for New Paltz while Chrisitan Micheli made seven saves in the shutout.
The Bengals outshot the Hawks with a narrow 15-14 margin and also held the advantage in corner kicks with 10 while the Hawks could only tally five.
Buffalo State had multiple opportunities in the contest but ran into some bad luck with shots off the crossbar and strong goaltending from New Paltz.
Shae Wirt (Overland Park, KS/St. Thomas Aquinas) made five saves in the effort while
JB Almontaser (Lackawanna, NY/Lackawanna) and
Manu Prieto (Cascais, Portugal/Salesianos Do Estoril) led the team with two shots on goal each.
THE BENGAL BREAKDOWN… At 10-4-3 (5-3-1 SUNYAC), Buffalo State enters the tournament as one of the hottest teams in the conference as the Bengals finished the season winning five of their last six matchups while also earning a draw against #15 Oneonta. Buffalo State will aim to get back to the SUNYAC Semifinals for the second time in three seasons and also hope to reach the SUNYAC Finals for the first time since 1984. The Bengals have won two SUNYAC titles and are looking to get their first since 1970.
GO DIEGO GO… Diego Rivera (East Meadow, NY/Cairo Durham) leads the team and the SUNYAC with 32 points, 14 goals, and 63 shots in his debut season with the Bengals. Rivera has scored at least one goal in 10 of the Bengals 17 games including a hat trick against Oswego earlier this month to help the team clinch a postseason berth. His goal total also sits 20th in the country.
ONE FOR THE RECORD BOOKS… Rivera's 14 goals are tied for the second most in a single season since at least 2006. The only Bengal to score more goals in a season in that time was Theo Pencic who scored 16 goals back in 2021.
SPREADING THE BALL AROUND… The Bengals have scored 48 goals this season while tallying 34 assists on those goals. That assist total is the second best mark in the SUNYAC (only trailing Cortland who has 38) and 39
th best in the nation. Fifteen different team members have tallied at least one assist while Prieto leads the team with six on the year.
OFFENSIVE POWERHOUSE… Buffalo State has tallied 130 points total on the year. That mark is second in the conference, only trailing Cortland with 136 points, and is the 27
th best mark in the country.
IN GOAL FOR THE BENGALS… Wirt has been the primary man in goal for Buffalo State. Across 14 games started, Wirt has accumulated 53 saves and four shutouts while posting a goals against average of 1.04.
Max Shoemaker (Niagara Falls, NY/Niagara Wheatfield) has also had a solid season in goal compiling 14 saves and a shutout across three starts.
DEFENSIVE WIZARDS… The trio of
Ayden Cristales (Williamson, NY/Williamson),
Yousif Kowa (Buffalo, NY/Hutch Tech), and
Riley Quinn (Lancaster, NY/Lancaster) have started together in all but one game for the Bengals this season and have been a staple on the defensive front. The Bengal defense has allowed just 16 goals on the year which is tied for the fourth-best in the conference. Opponents are averaging barely one goal per game and are averaging just over 11 shots per game.
DEPTH IN THE LINEUP… Almontaser,
Ali Mohamed (Lackawanna, NY/Lackawanna),
Joseph Desmonie (Valatie, NY/Ichabod Crane),
Frank Colella (Staten Island, NY/Tottenville),
Aladin Ali (Rochester, NY/East Irondequoit), and company have been key contributors for the Bengals making Buffalo State one of the deeper lineups in the conference tournament.
HOME SWEET HOME… Buffalo State is an impressive 5-1 at home this season with the one loss coming against New Paltz. That record is their best in a single season, in terms of winning percentage (0.833 winning %), since the team was a perfect 7-0 at home in 2016. The Bengals have allowed just four goals at home all season while scoring 19 of their own in the friendly confines of Coyer Field.
EYES ON THE HAWKS… New Paltz is set to return to Coyer Field for the second time this season. With a record of 9-2-4 (4-2-3 SUNYAC), the Hawks return to Buffalo with one of the best defensive fronts in the country.
Allowing just under half a goal per game, the Hawks have the best mark in the SUNYAC and the fifth best in the nation. In goal, Christian Micheli has been lights out posting a 0.877 save percentage, the best in the SUNYAC and seventh in the country. Micheli also has registered a shutout in five games this year while also having a stretch of three-straight against SUNYAC opponents Potsdam, Brockport, and Oswego. As a team, New Paltz has recorded a shutout in eight of 15 games played.
On the offensive side of the ball, captain Joseph DiPreta leads New Paltz with 18 points on six goals and six assists. Owen McGarrity and Yare Harris also have posted double-digit point seasons each tallying 10 points apiece.
New Paltz is looking to win their second SUNYAC Championship and their first since 1965.
SCHEDULES/RESULTS…
BUFFALO STATE BENGALS: 10-4-3 (5-3-1 SUNYAC)
NEW PALTZ HAWKS: 9-2-4 (4-2-3 SUNYAC)
