The Geneseo women's lacrosse team shut out the New Paltz Hawks last Saturday, 19-0, at home. For the Lady Knights it is their first shutout of the season and the fourth in the program's history.
Senior goalie Hannah McKee made two saves in the first half and sophomore goalie Annie Smith stopped a shot in the second half to preserve the shutout.
"We had a good game all around," said head coach Carly Ritchlin. "The shutout was a very nice goal we reached on Saturday."
Despite the shutout, it was the 19-point offensive explosion that left Ritchlin most satisfied, "We've been having some issues on the attacking and scoring end so it was nice to see us moving the goalie and doing the things we've been practicing," she said.
Senior midfielder Maggie Morris led the team with four goals, two assists and four groundballs in the win. Junior Abby Hungerford also had four goals with one assist, four groundballs and three draw controls.
"Abby had a great game," said Ritchlin. "She came up with a lot of draw controls for us and she did a wonderful job in the midfield controlling the ball."
Other key contributors included junior Justine Thorner, who, according to Ritchlin, "was on the outside of the circle and came up with a lot of groundballs and a lot of draw controls. That was key."
Freshman Kim Magee also put in some good playing time, along with senior Eileen Coyle who scored a goal and had two assists.
"[Coyle] stepped in and we put her all over the field doing different things she wasn't used to," said Ritchlin. "She stepped up and played very well."
Jessica Pausewang, head coach of Oneonta, is a Geneseo graduate and played under current head coach Carly Ritchlin.
"It's exciting just to see one of your players coaching but I also know that she has what it takes to build a successful program," said Ritchlin. "So now they are going to be a bigger challenge than maybe they would have been in the past … It's going to come down to who controls the game by controlling the ball."