With another late game push, the Geneseo men’s lacrosse team beat Nazareth College 10-9 on Saturday March 2.
On a brisk Saturday afternoon – 28 degrees compared to a heated Kuhl Gymnasium – the Knights had a slow start. Head coach Jim Lyons said he had some concerns about the change in temperature as the Knights have only practiced outside twice.
The weather did not seem to affect sophomore Steven Cregan who tallied four goals and four assists against Nazareth, raising his season point total to 11, which leads the team.
“He is one of the most dominant offensive players in the region and certainly in the conference,” Lyons said.
Lyons also said Cregan, as just a sophomore, has developed his game to become an athlete who can score, as well as create scoring opportunities for his teammates, which makes him difficult to defend.
Against Nazareth, Geneseo came together better in the last half-hour of play, similar to its game against Lycoming College on Feb. 27. The Knights netted two goals in the first half, but returned strong, scoring eight goals in the second half.
“We’re sort of figuring things out,” Lyons said. “We’d love to get up 10-0 in the first quarter if we could.”
Unlike their offense, the Knights’ defense remained consistent throughout the game. With a veteran backline led by seniors Erik Waltz and Kyle Johnson, Geneseo switched between man and zone defenses comfortably, exhausting the Nazareth offense.
The Golden Flyers more than doubled Geneseo’s shot attempts 58 to 25, respectively, but Lyons said he attributes many of the 58 shots to frustration.
“When you play good one-on-one defense and force people into bad angles, they get frustrated and a lot of times that manifests itself [in] bad shooting,” he said.
Sophomore Sam Thompson notched the game-winning goal with 136 seconds left. It was his second goal of the game.
The Knights take a break until Saturday March 16 against Clarkson University, enough time to figure out how to get that 10-goal first quarter lead that Lyons said he would like.