FREDONIA, N.Y. – Two of SUNYAC's top defenses will square off when Fredonia State faces New Paltz at noon Wednesday in Kingston, N.Y.
The Blue Devils (12-7) have allowed 0.84 goals per game, fourth in the 10-team conference. They are also second in save percentage, and tied for third in shutout percentage.
The Hawks (11-5-2), meanwhile, are at the top of all three lists. Their team save percentage of .902 is eighth best in all of NCAA Division III.
Each team has a nationally ranked goaltender.
Fredonia State junior
Meaghan Meszaros is 45th in save percentage and 71st in goals against average in the most recent list of NCAA D-III statistical leaders.
New Paltz's Stephanie Vega ranks even higher in the two categories. She's 17th in save percentage and 25th in goals against.
Vega made three saves and authored one of her school-record 10 shutouts this season when Hawks downed the Blue Devils, 2-0, Oct. 21 on New Paltz's Alumni Field.
Meszaros was on the losing end that day. The two shots she did not stop, goals by Eleni Anselmi and Shannon Cobb, came in the first half.
At the other end, the Hawks held Fredonia State senior forward
Reilly Condidorio to one shot the entire game, her lowest total of the season. She averages nearly 5½ shots per game.
Condidorio is the most accomplished scorer on either team. She's ninth in NCAA D-III with six game-winning goals and is 72nd with 32 points.
Both teams are trying to advance to the SUNYAC title game for the first time.
The Blue Devils – 2-3-1 in the SUNYAC tournament all-time – are making their third SUNYAC semifinal appearance. They lost to eventual-champion Oneonta, 4-0, in 2005, and tied Cortland, 1-1, in 2009 before being eliminated 3-0 on penalty kicks.
The Hawks have never won a SUNYAC playoff game. Their 0-4-2 SUNYAC tournament record includes semifinal losses in 1988 and 1999 and a 1-1 first-round tie with Buffalo State last year. The Bengals advanced to the semifinals with a 3-2 edge in penalty kicks.
An already-wet fall combined with last weekend's snowfall made Alumni Field unplayable. The new venue, Dietz Memorial Stadium, has a artificial-turf playing surface. It is located approximately 20 minutes to the north of New Paltz, near the New York State Thruway.
Kickoff was also moved up three hours – from 3 p.m. to noon.
Live stats will be available via each school's websites and by clicking
HERE.
