Junior midfielder Bryan Wager competes for a loose ball against his opponent. Wager had three shots on goal and recorded an assist in the Knights’ 2-1 victory over the Houghton Highlanders on Tuesday Sept. 11. It was the team’s first victory of the season (Keith Walters/director of multimedia).
The Geneseo men’s soccer season is officially underway. There are many new faces and plenty of upperclassmen returning to the pitch for the Knights this year.
Senior midfielder Austin DeRidder reflected on what it feels like to be in his final season of eligibility.
“I’ve enjoyed it thoroughly,” DeRidder said. “I always want to leave an everlasting connection with this program.”
DeRidder has a certain leadership role in the locker room, knowing that young freshmen look up to him and other older players.
“I hope [the freshmen] understand the passion, determination, and dedication we put into this program,” DeRidder said.
Also new to the program—besides the freshmen—is head coach Mark Howlett. The players believe Howlett brings a level of intensity and discipline to the table. Furthermore, the team hopes that through Howlett’s leadership, they can make Geneseo into a nationally competitive program.
Unfortunately, the team got off to a rocky start with their first road trip of the year. The Knights went 0-1-1 in the Penn State Behrend Tournament and 0-1-1 in regular season play to bring their record to 0-2-2.
In their first regular season game, the Knights tied Skidmore 1-1. Junior defender Caleb Murthy scored the lone goal for Geneseo while junior goalkeeper Dillon Medd made six saves in the game.
The Knights fell short in their next game falling 2-1 to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Junior midfielder Junsei Ro was able to score for the Knights while junior goaltender Liam Dole made four saves in the losing effort.
After a tough loss to RPI, freshman midfielder Ari Samoohy was able to see the lessons the team could take away and build on for future games.
“It was definitely tough, we learned a lot about our positioning,” Samoohy said. “[RPI] made it clear that we have a lot of gaps and a lot of stuff to improve on in the future.”
The Knights secured their first win at home on Tuesday Sept. 11 against conference opponent Houghton Highlanders by a score of 2-1. The upperclassmen led the way in scoring for the Knights as Ro and senior forward Noah Van Zandt both put balls into the back of the opponent’s net.
The Knights executed exactly what they were looking to do before the game. Junior defender Matt Pike reflected on the Knights’ goal scoring opportunities.
“We’re just looking to get on the scoresheet,” Pike said. “We’re really looking to get both of these home wins and get back on track.”
Not only did the Knights get on the scoresheet early, but they already secured one of two home games so far this week. On top of that, they played a fantastic game on defense. They played with structure and kept the Highlanders to the outsides of the field.
Dole once again was sensational in goal. With five saves in the contest, he kept the Knights in it until the end and secured their first victory of the season.
The Knights look to keep the ball rolling as they play Hobert at home Saturday Sept. 15 before starting a four-game string of road games. The first half of the four will be played on Sept. 21 at SUNY Potsdam and Sept. 22 at SUNY Plattsburgh. These games will kick off conference play for the Knights.