The Geneseo field hockey team came away from a three-game road trip last week with a 2-1 record, which was enough to secure the fourth seed in the playoffs and a matchup with heated rival SUNY Cortland in the first round of the SUNYAC playoffs on Nov. 4.
The Oct. 20 game against Nazareth College was originally scheduled as a home game and Senior Night. Unfortunately, Geneseo's field was in a condition that made an away game necessary. Because of that, "the team wanted to make it extra special for all of our seniors," according to head coach Jessica Seren. The result was a 5-1 victory.
Sophomore forward Kayla DeAngelis scored the first three goals of the game, two of which were assisted by sophomore forward Kerry Hosford. Freshman forward Abby Weiss along with Hosford scored the others, and juniors Caitlyn Dowell and Nicole Zito split time in goal to allow just one in the net.
Geneseo faced SUNY New Paltz on Oct. 22, coming into the game at 8-7 overall and 3-2 in SUNYAC. Despite having double the amount of shots on goal and corner attempts, Geneseo lost 2-1.
The first half showed how closely matched the two teams were, but the Hawks scored right before halftime to go up 1-0. The second half was a different story, as the Knights outshot New Paltz 17-3. They could only convert on one of those opportunities: a 41st minute goal by DeAngelis.
"We had plenty of opportunities in the second half," said Seren. "We just weren't able to capitalize."
On Oct. 23 the Knights traveled to Washington and Jefferson College of Pennsylvania. The game went back and forth, but Geneseo scored the last two goals of the game to squeak out a 4-3 victory over the 11-3 opponent. Junior Rachel Atkins scored to tie the game up, and DeAngelis scored with less than three minutes for the dramatic game-winner.
With that goal, DeAngelis – in just her second year – broke the previous team record for goals in a season, 16, set by Michelle Milkovich (‘11).
"To travel on the road and beat a quality team like Washington and Jefferson is great for our confidence," Seren said after the win.
Going into the post-season, coach Seren stressed that, "Our record doesn't show it, but we're OK with any matchup [in SUNYACs]."
Geneseo plays its last game of the regular season on Oct. 29 at Skidmore College before the first round of SUNYAC play.