This past weekend proved to be a tough test for both the men's and women's soccer teams. On Friday, the men's team - ranked 15th in the nation - expected to continue their undefeated start against Clarkson. In an unexpected upset however, Clarkson was victorious over the Knights, 1-0.
The first half of the game was scoreless, although Geneseo managed to outshoot Clarkson 4-1. As the clock hit 48:09, Clarkson's freshman striker, Scott Desmond, scored the only goal of the game off a stolen pass sent from midfield toward the Geneseo goal. Desmond delivered a groundball into the corner of the net for the games lone goal. While Geneseo fought hard to come back, outshooting Clarkson 10-5, they could not get past the Clarkson defense.
Junior Adam McMahon made two saves in goal for Geneseo as the Knights fell to 2-1-0 for the season.
The following day, the men's team traveled to Canton where they took on the St. Lawrence squad. Despite the tough loss the day before, the Knights bounced back to defeat the Saints by a 2-0 margin.
In the first half, a corner kick from junior midfielder Joe Walter found its way to freshman forward Ben Ariola, who rifled in the first goal of the game for Geneseo. The other goal of the game was scored in the second half: junior All-American Judah Manetta sent a through ball up to junior midfielder Nick Prosser, who beat the Saints goalkeeper on a breakaway to put Geneseo up 2-0.
Junior Jeremy Reeves stood tall in goal with his third shutout of the season and five saves in the game.
Reeves praised his team for its performance. "It was a great team effort," he said. "[The] defense played really well and the forwards got it done when they needed to…both the team and I have stepped it up since last year." The Knights' win moved them to 3-1-0.
The Knights were unable to continue their winning ways Wednesday as they hosted Ithaca, falling to the Bombers 1-0.
Ithaca came in boasting an unblemished record, but Geneseo played the 15th ranked team in the country to a draw in the first half. The deadlock was broken with 27 minutes remaining in the second stanza, however, as Ithaca's Matt DuBois received a through ball from Chris Havis and buried it inside the right post for the eventual game-winner.
The loss for Geneseo came despite the host's 14-11 shot advantage. Ithaca junior goalkeeper Andy Wilhelm kept his net off-limits throughout, stopping seven shots in the victory.
Geneseo junior netminder Jeremy Reeves stopped three shots as the Knights dropped to 3-2 on the young season. They will look to rebound Saturday as they travel to Fredonia.
Meanwhile, the women's team won their second game of the season last Wednesday against St. John Fisher, by a score of 2-1.
Junior Eileen Coyle scored her second goal of the year, unassisted, in the first half to give the Knights a 1-0 lead. Coyle then scored her second goal of the game - and third of the season - at 49:22 off a cross from sophomore Stephanie Bergin.
In the 77th minute, the Cardinals scored their first goal with a header that beat senior goalkeeper Laura Castor, putting the contest at 2-1. Castor, who made eight saves, held off the Cardinals thereafter with the help of the Knights' defense in the remaining 12 minutes for the win. While Geneseo put up five corner kicks to Fisher's two, the Cardinals out-shot the Knights 17-15.
The win's gratification was short-lived, however, as the Lady Knights traveled to Ithaca Saturday and lost a 5-0 decision. The Bombers scored three times in the first half to jump in front, but five minutes into the second half, play was put on hold due to lightning.
The action resumed 40 minutes later, but Geneseo's enthusiasm waned. Castor made 10 saves, but allowed five goals in 73 minutes of play. Freshman Katie Clerkin took over in goal for the final 17 minutes and made four saves.
Head Coach Nate Wiley was disappointed with his team's lackluster effort. "Ithaca is a great team in this region," he said. "We didn't bring to the game the energy and work ethic that we needed to compete. I truly don't feel that Ithaca is 5-0 better than us."
The Lady Knights fell to 2-2-0 on the season and hope to rebound when they host Fredonia on Saturday at 1 p.m.