Senior forward Gabriella Clare advances the ball on a Saturday Oct. 13 matchup against the SUNY New Paltz Hawks. The Knights would secure a 2-0 victory on a day when they were honoring their three seniors at home. (Josie Kwan/Associate Photo Editor)
In an up and down weekend for the Geneseo field hockey team, the Knights split their matchups with conference opponents, winning one game and losing the other. The team came into the weekend tied at the top of the SUNYAC with SUNY New Paltz and SUNY Oneonta. The Knights would face Oneonta on Friday Oct. 12 and New Paltz on Saturday Oct. 13.
The Knights dominated play in their first game of the weekend against Oneonta. They outshot the Red Dragons 34 to seven and out tallied them in penalty corners by an impressive 23 to four.
Despite controlling play and applying pressure on the Oneonta goalkeeper, the Knights could not find the back of the net. This would backfire when, halfway through the second half, Oneonta broke away for a two on one counter attack opportunity which would result in a goal. Oneonta scored again just five minutes later to push the score to 2-0.
The Knights would battle back and score at the end of the half, but it would not be enough as the team fell by a score of 2-1. Geneseo did not have time to mope about the tough loss. They pushed through, according to senior forward Gabriella Clare.
“The loss against Oneonta didn’t really hinder us at all,” Clare said. “We all started thinking about the game we were going to have against New Paltz the next day right away.”
The New Paltz game would play out very similarly in the statistic column for Geneseo. They led the Hawks 24 to 10 in shots and 11 to eight in penalty corners. This time, the Knights got on the board in the first half off of a goal from junior defender Julia Kim. The Knights did not look back after that success and were able to secure a 2-0 victory over New Paltz.
Before the game the team honored their three seniors; Clare, midfielder Madison Albrecht and midfielder Tess Necaise. The victory would put a stamp on a day honoring the careers of these three Knights.
With their win over New Paltz, the Knights secured a spot in postseason play and position themselves as tied for second with the Hawks in SUNYAC standings. Oneonta sits at the top of the conference. The team appears optimistic about their ability to compete in post season play.
“I am very excited to see how this season plays out as we enter the SUNYAC tournament,” Clare said. “We have a very talented team and I have a good feeling about the season.”
After a 3-0 loss to SUNY Cortland on Wednesday Oct. 17 The Knights have an 8-5 overall record and 4-2 conference record with SUNYAC tournament play set to begin on Oct. 31.
Before conference tournament play begins, Geneseo still has a couple of games left. Both games are non-conference matchups. The team plays Nazareth College at home starting at 3 p.m. on Sunday Oct. 21 and then they travel to the University of Rochester for their final regular season matchup on Oct. 27.
The Knights will continue to fight for the top spot in the SUNYAC standings. If they earn a top seed, they could find themselves hosting a semi-final game. A home game could propel the Knights toward a SUNYAC championship matchup and beyond.