The men's soccer team brought home a pair of wins after a successful conference road weekend. Geneseo defeated SUNY Oswego 2-1 on Oct. 14 and SUNY Cortland 1-0 on Oct. 15. The team will commence its final week of conference play with a 5-2-0 SUNYAC record and an 8-5-1 overall record.
After a series of losses from the previous week, head coach Dominic Oliveri said he was "expecting a better weekend of play." The team lived up to its coach's expectations against Oswego, rattling off 21 shots overall and maintaining possession throughout the entire match. Despite the dominant play, however, the Knights couldn't find a goal in the first half.
Geneseo made its mark well into the second half as freshman Neil Allen beat a defender in a one-on-one effort and netted an unassisted goal in the 71st minute. Oswego retaliated just three minutes later, leveling the score to 1-1.
In the 83rd minute, junior Jop Smit scored on a set piece opportunity to secure the win. Senior Sam Murphy made two saves in aiding the Knights' victory.
"We pressured early and were consistent throughout the game. We became confident after our first goal," Oliveri said.
Going into the Cortland match, the Knights "knew it was going to be a tougher game," explained Oliveri. Windy, rainy conditions accounted for the back-and-forth struggle between the teams.
"The wind really had an impact on the game. When the wind was on our side, we had the advantage, but when it was going against us, the other team had a definite advantage," Oliveri said.
Though Geneseo had an 18-8 shot advantage, regulation time ended scoreless, and the teams prepared for overtime.
"I told the team, ‘We haven't won an overtime game all season. It's time for that to change,'" Oliveri said.
Three minutes into overtime, the Knights claimed victory as Allen capitalized on a misplay from the opposing goalkeeper and netted a goal from 23 yards out. Murphy posted one save in his seventh shutout of the season.
"Offensively, we are creating a lot of chances. We had a total of 39 shots over the weekend. We need to work on our precision so we can convert some of those chances," Oliveri said.
As the conference season winds down for the Knights, Oliveri hopes to "finish no worse than second or third in the league" in order to secure a home playoff spot.
Geneseo hosts SUNY Plattsburgh on Oct. 21 and SUNY Potsdam on Oct. 22.