This season may be over, but the Geneseo men’s lacrosse team is looking forward to its next one with a positive attitude. The Knights came into this season with high aspirations, and although many went unfulfilled, they were still able to accomplish some of their goals.
“Our goal is always to reach the conference tournament. We’re disappointed in that regard,” head coach Jim Lyons said. “Other than that, we were strong in many other places. We were strong defensively towards the end of the season, we played great against our last four opponents. We’ve got some holes to fill. We’ve recognized some weaknesses and we are ready to address those.”
The Knights did improve toward the end of the season. They won two of their last three games with both wins coming against tough SUNYAC foes. Being able to send off their departing seniors with a win on Saturday April 26 was a favorable ending to a lackluster season. The Knights are going to have a tough job during this offseason, though – having to replace six graduating seniors, all on the defensive side of the ball.
“We’re not going to be able to fill their spots right away, but we know that we have people in line to do that,” Lyons said. “If history is any indication, we know that defensive players tend to come in and be better faster. Our younger guys this season were really talented this season. We expect players to be able to step up, but it’s always a work in progress,” he added.
The team may not have met expectations this season, but it was able to finish strong. The Knights were able to win two of their three home games with a strong crowd behind them. The team handled the distractions of Disney World well, splitting their games in Orlando, Fla.
Even their losses were highly contested. Many of their games were decided by only a goal or two. We could easily be talking about an 8-5 team instead of a 5-8 one.
This team is more than ready to face the challenges of the offseason and will be going to go into next season with something to prove. The Knights will be an interesting team to watch in 2015.