The Geneseo field hockey team has ended regular season play with a record of 13-6-1, and will now begin its quest for a SUNYAC championship title. The record that Geneseo built this season is a reflection of the players on the roster. The Knights have benefited from stellar defensive plays lead by senior Bridget McGovern and goalie sophomore Dayna Mercer. On offense, sophomore Sarah Malinak has emerged as a consistent goal-scoring threat, and senior Kayla DeAngelis has led the Knights with a record-setting year.
DeAngelis established single-season records with 59 points and 24 goals in the regular season. She eclipsed the old record of 43 points set by Michelle Milkovich ‘11 in 2010. Previously, DeAngelis’ own record was 17 goals, scored during the 2011 campaign.
Geneseo faced University of Rochester, ranked 18th in the country on Saturday Nov. 2. After falling behind 3-2, the Knights answered with four consecutive goals, three of which DeAngelis scored. The Knights won 6-4.
DeAngelis’ nine total points eclipsed the Knights’ single-game record of eight scored by Leslie Howlett ‘03 in the 2001 season. It was also the second time a Geneseo player has scored four goals in one game.
The season wasn’t over, and DeAngelis wasn’t done scoring goals. On Tuesday Nov. 5, in the final regular season match against Ithaca College, the Knights cruised to a 5-1 victory behind two goals and an assist from the record-setting forward.
“[DeAngelis’] ability to finish in the circle this year has been so impressive,” head coach Jess Seren said. “Her speed allows her to beat defenders, so not only does she work to free herself up for the shot, but she’s able to set her teammates up, which is why she leads the team in assists as well.”
The second-seeded Knights will take on third-seeded SUNY New Paltz on Friday Nov. 8 in the semifinals of the SUNYAC tournament hosted by SUNY Cortland.
Seren hopes the players’ season will continue in stellar fashion as they approach the upcoming playoff game.
“At this point in the season, we are who we are. We aren’t looking to make any major changes,” Seren said. “We want to focus on our style of play and executing our game plan. We have the opportunity in practice to go out there and fine tune some things but, more importantly, we want to keep doing what we’re doing, which is playing really good field hockey.”