The women's soccer team split two home contests last weekend, dropping a tough 1-0 match to Plattsburgh on Friday before crushing the Potsdam Bears 6-0 on Saturday.
Friday's game was tightly contested throughout: Geneseo controlled the ball for much of the game, but had difficulty penetrating a tenacious Cardinals defense that has allowed just one goal all season. Unfortunately for Geneseo, Plattsburgh made the most of their limited offensive chances, as forward Emily Riley scored in the 76th minute to give the Cardinals all the cushion they would need.
Geneseo coach Nate Wiley felt the score inaccurately conveyed the Knights' performance against Plattsburgh. "It's tough when you leave a game knowing you were probably the better team that day, but didn't get the [win]," said Wiley, adding, "I was actually quite pleased with how we performed in the match, I thought we dominated possession … unfortunately they generated a number of good goal-scoring opportunities and converted on one."
Despite the disheartening loss to the undefeated Cardinals, the Lady Knights came out with zeal against Potsdam on Saturday. "The difficult thing is being able to learn from Friday's match, put it behind us, and then prepare for the next day's game," said Wiley, "I thought they did a tremendous job in doing that."
The Lady Knights controlled all facets of the game, outshooting the Bears 29-2 while rarely surrendering possession of the ball. Sophomore goalie Katie Clerkin made one save to earn the shutout, and Geneseo scored five goals in the final 27 minutes of play to secure the victory.
Three players came off the bench to contribute four goals in Saturday's rout, a testament to the depth of the team.
"Last year if we ran into any trouble or obstacles, we didn't really have any players coming off the bench who could make us a different team," said Wiley. "This year, we have those players."
Looking ahead, the Lady Knights go on the road to face New Paltz and Oneonta this weekend before hosting Rochester on Oct. 8.