The women’s lacrosse team began its season against Castleton State College of Vermont and Rochester Institute of Technology on Saturday March 2 and Tuesday March 5, respectively.
The Knights opened up with a lopsided 17-1 win against Castleton. The lacrosse team seems to have an affinity for large-margined openers as this win was Geneseo’s biggest margin of victory since 2011 when the Knights defeated Sweet Briar College 24-2 in that year’s home opener.
The Knights dominated many aspects of the game as they controlled ground balls and draw controls, outshooting Castleton, who tallied 31 turnovers.
In an email interview, head coach Carly Ritchlin said that she was glad that the team was able to transition from workouts in the gym to on-field play. She also said that the team attacked the goal well.
“To have nine different players score shows that we have multiple threats on attack,” Ritchlin said. “We don’t just rely on one or two attackers to get the job done.”
Junior midfielder Emily Haggerty recorded a team-leading eight points, one short of her career high. With 120 points Haggerty is tied for 12th place all-time.
Junior Caroline Buonocore led the team in goals netting four while first-year Tara Basile scored the first two goals of her career.
The Knights continued their winning ways as they traveled to RIT to play a tight double overtime game. The previously undefeated Tigers were leading 13-14, but two goals from sophomore attack Katey Hart allowed the Knights to defeat RIT by a 15-14 margin.
“I was very impressed with [Hart’s] composure,” Ritchlin said. “She is just that much more confident in her ability to handle the ball and to put it in the back of the net.”
Hart had a team-leading five goals while she recorded one assist. Junior Kylie Caesar, senior Lea Paris and junior Caroline Buonocore all recorded one assist as well.
After two games, Ritchlin said that the team needs to work on shot percentage, but said she was impressed with the effort the team was giving.
“The one thing the team, I know will continue to do, is work hard throughout the entire 60 minutes,” Ritchlin said. “For every mistake we made, we worked that much harder to make up for that.”
The Knights travel to No. 17 Ithaca College on Friday March 8.