The Geneseo women’s soccer team has returned to its early season form. After dropping or tying three games in a row in late September, the Knights topped SUNY New Paltz 5-0 on Oct. 3 and SUNY Oneonta 2-0 on Saturday Oct. 4. “We figured out a way to out-compete them in the second half,” head coach Nate Wiley said of his team’s play against Oneonta. “That was probably the thing that we were most pleased with over the weekend.”
The star of the weekend for the Knights was freshman back Leah Greene. Greene netted a hat trick against New Paltz and added another goal against Oneonta. She now has seven goals and four assists on the season, including two game-winning goals.
“She’s an extremely gifted athlete and she’s a very smart soccer player,” Wiley said regarding Greene. “Her ability to score goals in a variety of ways was obviously very evident over the weekend; it’s been very helpful for us as we try to generate more goals with our offense.”
The team as a whole has been playing better than it has in years. Over the past two seasons, the Knights combined for just 10 wins. They have already matched that total before the start of fall break.
Other coaches are taking notice. In the latest National Soccer Coaches Association of America poll, Geneseo is ranked number 23. Wiley thinks that other SUNYAC coaches are receiving the message.
“Not only do we defend well, but we can score goals,” he said. “Scoring seven goals on the road—regardless of who you’re playing—is pretty good.”
The Knights play against SUNY Brockport on Saturday Oct. 11 before taking some well-deserved time off for fall break. The Golden Eagles are 7-3-1 on the season and are coming off of a win against Utica College on Tuesday Oct. 7. After that, Geneseo won’t play again until Oct. 17 at SUNY Oswego.
“We’ve been playing well and we just want to keep playing,” Wiley said. “We’re successful and we’re playing well. I think a couple days [off] will be good.”
With their newfound explosive offense, the Knights should be able to maintain their one point lead in the SUNYAC standings. Three of Geneseo’s last five opponents are within two points of the Knights in the standings—meaning the end of October could be very exciting for SUNYAC women’s soccer.