This past Saturday, Sept. 15, Geneseo's soccer teams squared off against SUNY Fredonia in the SUNYAC opener for both squads.
The women opened their game with a bang, scoring within the first minute as junior Eileen Coyle tallied an easy goal with a nice assist from sophomore Stephanie Bergin. Geneseo, however, was unable to open up a wider advantage.
Eventually, Fredonia's offense found a crack in the Lady Knights' defense in the 65th minute. Fredonia's Lauren Heilweil scored unassisted for the Blue Devils to tie the game at one. Both teams battled back and forth for the remaining 26 minutes, with the second half ending in a 1-1 tie. There were several close calls in overtime, but the game ended in a 1-1 draw.
Geneseo had a clear offensive advantage, with 24 shots on goal compared to Fredonia's 16. Fredonia, however, amassed 11 corner kicks to the Knights' six. Freshman goalie Katie Clerkin, in her first collegiate start, made three saves and Becky Scroger of Fredonia stopped eight shots.
"I think that we have a tremendous amount of talent on this team, it's just a matter of getting ourselves a bit more organized in how we attack and how we defend as a team," said coach Nate Wiley. "It is still fairly early in the season and I wouldn't expect us to have everything figured out yet, but we're going in the right direction."
The Lady Knights, who currently hold a 2-2-1 record, continue SUNYAC play next weekend as they travel to Plattsburgh on Friday for a 4 p.m. game.
The men's squad did not fare as well as their female counterparts, losing 2-0 in a road game at SUNY Fredonia on Saturday night. Despite winning the shot advantage 22-17 and dominating the corner kick count 7-1, the Knights were unable to turn those chances into goals.
According to coach Mike Mooney, neither team had great opportunities in the first half. When asked what he thought of the team's overall performance, however, he said simply, "Soccer is a game of results and we didn't get those results."
While there were several apparent opportunities, Fredonia's defense thwarted the Knights every time. The Blue Devils struck first in the 49th minute and then scored again just seven minutes later. Geneseo's goalie, junior Jeremy Reeves, made eight saves including a penalty kick save in the loss.
The Knights fell to 3-3 overall and move on in the SUNYAC conference Friday to face off against undefeated rival Plattsburgh at home at 4 p.m.