The Geneseo women's soccer team won both its games at the Manhattanville Valiant Classic tournament this past weekend. The Knights beat Manhattanville College 6-1 on Sept. 10 before defeating previously No.10-ranked Eastern Connecticut State University 5-2 on Sept. 11.
Geneseo got off to a hot start against Manhattanville as senior Anne Beinetti scored less than six minutes into the game off an assist from fellow senior Corinne Santariello.
Santariello netted her own goal six minutes later with senior Bre Glynn earning the assist. Junior Emily Novak scored late in the first half giving Geneseo a 3-0 lead heading into the break.
The Knights kept the pressure on as senior Kelly Bergin scored twice early in the second half, with Novak picking up the assist on the first goal. Junior Cailin Kowalewski added a late goal and Geneseo finished with a 6-1 victory. Sophomore Julia Sanger made one save in 67 minutes and first year Allison Stamp went untested in the remaining 23 minutes.
The Knights had an assist on each of their six goals in the game and their passing was a big part of their success on the weekend.
"Our mentality of players getting to the goal is creating opportunities for us," head coach Nate Wiley said. "A lot of it was hard work from our players."
Eastern Connecticut took an early lead on Geneseo, but Beinetti quickly responded to tie the game at one. Senior Melanie Rocchio scored her third goal of the year to give Geneseo the lead later in the half as Bergin picked up the assist.
Geneseo's halftime lead was quickly erased as Eastern Connecticut tied the game at two less than a minute into the second half.
Geneseo then responded by taking control of the game. Junior Shannon Spusta gave the Knights the lead for good and then assisted on Bergin's third goal of the weekend. Beinetti then added an insurance marker with her team-leading sixth goal of the weekend.
Sanger made two saves in net picking up her second win of the weekend. Geneseo outshot the Warriors 16-6, beating the No.10-ranked team in nearly every category.
"We came out of that game with high confidence knowing we could play like that against a top team," Wiley said.
The Knights got contributions from the entire team, with seven different players scoring goals on the weekend. Wiley talked about how difficult it is for opponents to scout Geneseo with so many offensive weapons.
"When teams scout us, they see three, four, five, six different players that can score for us," Wiley added. "It's definitely an advantage for us."
Geneseo plays at home on Sunday Sept. 18 against Westminster College (Pennsylvania) before opening SUNYAC play the next weekend, Sept. 23 – 24.
Editor's Note:
The Knights won their fifth straight game on Sept. 14 defeating Nazareth College 2-1 in overtime. Senior Kelly Bergin scored the game winner off an assist from junior Shannon Spusta one minute, 42 seconds into overtime.