A Geneseo player gets a free shot against the SUNY Oneonta goalie following a penalty in their Saturday, Oct. 19 game. Geneseo defeated the visiting Red Dragons 6-2 (Olga Shvetsova/photo editor).
Saturday Oct. 19 was senior night for the Knights, but it was freshman forward Maggie Phipps who stole the show for Geneseo. Phipps put up four goals for the Knights and erased any hope for the SUNY Oneonta team that saw their first-quarter lead quickly made null and void.
The Knights honored four seniors on Saturday before their victory, which guaranteed the team a berth in the SUNYAC Tournament. Defender Julia Kim, forward Elisa Arcara, forward Erin Nolan and midfielder Ariana Walcyzyk each made their way onto the field with their families to be greeted by thunderous applause from the crowd and from their teammates who clearly respect and love their senior leaders.
Oneonta opened the scoring with a goal seven minutes into the game, which would be unchallenged until nearly 20 minutes later. A penalty corner provided Kim with an opportunity to tie with the Knights’ rival and it didn’t go to waste as she roped a shot past the Oneonta goalie, tying the game for the Knights just before halftime. Following this goal, the energy was in Geneseo’s favor.
In the second half’s opening minutes, Phipps began her display of dominance with a goal seven minutes into the third quarter off a pass from junior forward Haley Clark. Only three minutes later, Phipps tallied another goal off a backhand that was set up beautifully by Nolan.
Phipps quieted down for the rest of the quarter along with the rest of the team, but the Knights began the fourth quarter strong as Nolan added a goal of her own within two minutes. The score came as a result of Arcara’s excellent work in beating the Oneonta goalie on a challenge.
Phipps came back strong and scored two goals in two minutes for the Knights, icing the game for Geneseo. The first of these two goals came off a rebound leading to an easy goal for Phipps, followed by another goal off an exceptional feed from Clark.
The two goals made it 6-1 Knights and allowed them to coast to the victory besides a late goal from Oneonta making the final score 6-2. Not only was the score lopsided, but the shots on goal tally heavily favored the Knights, with a 28-9 margin by the time the clock ran out.
Attesting to the success of the Knights over Oneonta was Nolan who recognized how well the team has worked together this season. “Once we scored the first goal, we were able to gain momentum,” she said. “We had a strong passing game and worked together as one, cohesive unit. We play our best when we play together.”
Nolan had to acknowledge the impressive efforts of Phipps in light of the team’s performance. “Maggie did amazing, as she has been doing all season. Scoring four goals in one game was insane. She's a superstar and has made a huge impact during her first collegiate season,” she said.
Phipps has been huge this year for the Knights as her continued growth, along with already well-established Knights such as Nolan, Clark, Kim and junior midfielder Jordan Penkitis, has allowed the Knights to reach their best 16-game record since 2010.
Each game for the Knights seems to feature another player stepping up and making the difference for the Knights, showing just how deserved a berth in the SUNYAC Tournament is for Geneseo.
Field hockey plays next at SUNY Oswego on Saturday Oct. 26 in a morning game starting at 11 a.m.