This past week was a busy one for Geneseo's field hockey team as the Lady Knights defeated SUNY Oneonta and SUNY New Paltz this weekend before falling to Utica College at home on Wednesday.
This was the end of a long string of road games for the team, as five of their last six games have been away. Although most teams would find this amount of travel difficult, the Lady Knights managed to get off to an excellent start this season, posting a 5-2 overall record. They are also undefeated in their conference.
"Playing on the road can be hard but I don't think it's affected us a lot this year," said head coach Jessica Seren in an e-mail. "I really try to keep the girls focused on Geneseo and our game plan and what we do best and I think we've done a really good job of not letting outside factors, such as playing on the road, affect our performance."
On Friday in Oneonta, the Lady Knights went down early as the Red Dragons scored within the first four minutes. Geneseo managed to score twice and escaped with a 2-1 victory. Sophomore Abby Sayler scored Geneseo's first goal with an assist by junior Stephanie Maisonet to tie the game at one. Geneseo then pulled away for the win with an unassisted goal by junior Erin Zalewski.
The Lady Knights' second game was another success as Geneseo managed to shut out their opponents 2-0. Maisonet, who received Student Athlete of the Week honors for her weekend performance, scored the first goal early with junior Michelle Milkovich recording the assist. Toward the end of the game, senior Jean Nolan scored an insurance goal to increase the lead to two.
"I thought both games went well for us over the weekend," said Seren. "Our biggest challenge was adjusting to the different playing surfaces. After we used part of the first half in the Oneonta game to adjust to the turf, it wasn't an issue and the players were able to execute our game plan."
The Lady Knights suffered a 2-0 loss against the Utica Pioneers on Wednesday. The first goal occurred about two minutes before the end of the first half and the second around the 57th minute. Utica's Monica Storm made three saves in posting the shutout, while freshman Nicole Zito stopped three shots in the loss for the Lady Knights.
Geneseo managed only five shots on goal against the Pioneers' stifling defense.
The Lady Knights have never won a game against Utica, but the loss only reduces their record to 5-2. Seren said she is confident in her team's ability, and optimistic about the remainder of the season.
Geneseo's next game is at home on Saturday at 1 p.m. against SUNY Morrisville.