The last home weekend for the Geneseo women’s lacrosse team was one of excellence, as the Knights continued to roll through this season’s competition. The Knights faced visiting SUNY Oswego on April 17. Geneseo jumped out to an early lead when senior attack Caroline Buonocore scored a mere 15 seconds into the game.
The team continued to tack on goals, ultimately leading 7-1 going into the half. Geneseo scored another two quick goals at the start of the second half to secure the victory en route to a 13-3 win.
Junior attack Katey Hart had five goals while Buonocore added four of her own. As a team, Geneseo outshot Oswego 31-11.
Head coach Carly Ritchlin expressed happiness with the team’s effort.
“I couldn’t have been more proud in the way we played,” Ritchlin said. “We were confident and mentally tough. We were able to get a great rotation going and able to play several different players.”
The team played in its final home game of the regular season in a matchup against SUNY Oneonta on Saturday April 19.
The game honored the team’s eight graduating seniors. It was those seniors who proved to be crucial to the game’s outcome as five seniors scored a combined 11 goals in the Knights’ sixth straight victory.
Similar to the previous game, the Knights scored seven goals in the first half, but the opposing squad could not score one of its own. The Knights went on to score seven more times on the day and won 14-4 – their third straight game winning by a margin of double-digit goals.
Buonocore tallied four goals and one assist, while senior midfielder Emily Haggerty added three goals and two assists to lead the Knights. In addition, senior attack Meredith Weber scored two goals, while seniors attack Caitlin Lally and midfielder Kylie Caesar chipped in one apiece.
If there is one thing that Geneseo has not been lacking this season, it’s offense. After two high-scoring games, the Knights rallied off 21 goals against Buffalo State College on Tuesday April 22, with a combined seven Geneseo players tallying a goal on the day. It marked the Knights’ seventh victory in a row.
Though the Knights are rolling now, the end of the season is approaching and playoffs are looming. Ritchlin said she knows she will need her team to be motivated and play hard in the final stretch of the season if they want to compete.
“We will need to really focus and push forward. This is a tough time of year with classes and finals coming up, so it’s important that we stay grounded and realize it’s going to take everything we have to come out of these two weeks successful,” Ritchlin said. “Overall the team is playing really well together. That is what separates us from most other teams, we work and we win together.”