Despite another impressive performance from freshman forward Maggie Phipps and the Knights, Geneseo suffered a loss to MIT in the second round of the NCAA DIII Tournament on Saturday Nov. 16.
After last week’s nail-biter against Cortland, it looked like there was no obstacle the Knights couldn’t overcome, even if it meant going into two overtime periods to do so. This has been particularly true this season as evidenced by the fact that the team had its strongest season on record, never once relinquishing their grasp on the top spot of the SUNYAC standings.
The matchup versus MIT provided an obstacle for the Knights, but not an impassible one and the stats for the game make it seem like Geneseo was in control. MIT was outshot 14-7 by the Knights and out-penalty shot 11-2 in the end.
Luck, however, was not on the side of the Knights who saw an early lead off a goal from Phipps, who raced past the defenders and potted a short-side tally, quickly matched by the Engineers of MIT less than a minute later.
The game remained even for much of the first half, until MIT added another goal right before halftime. This made the score 2-1 in the Engineer’s favor despite a 7-4 shots-on-goal margin in favor of the Knights.
The second half was even for the first 10 minutes before another Engineer goal made the score 3-1. For most of this half, it seemed every attempt the Knights had at a goal fell just short of the mark.
This would change with another solid effort from Phipps, who found her way back onto the scoreboard due to the help of senior defender Julia Kim on an amazing pass off a penalty corner with five minutes left in the match.
Geneseo was afforded a few more shots after this, including two penalty corners, but again found themselves with no luck as they fell to the Engineers 3-2 in an undeservingly anticlimactic end to what had been an excellent season.
Senior forwards Erin Nolan and Elisa Arcara, along with Kim and senior midfielder Ariana Walczyk made up the graduating class for the field hockey team this season. If this season has showed anything, it’s that the leaders of this squad have built a team willing to give everything they have to succeed and win for the team around them.
Nolan made it clear that the team never lost their fight, “It was a tough game, but we never gave up and fought until the last minute. We left it all on the field.”
Phipps continued along the same lines as Nolan, adding that the team maintained their spirit throughout, “I left it all out on the field and I can say the same for my team, they are the most wonderful group of people that I have had the honor to play with,” Phipps said, “I was lucky enough to be able to play on a team with such perseverance my first year here.”
Nolan also had only good things to say about the team that sends her off. “This team was special, and I am lucky to have been a part of it. I could not have asked for a better way to end my field hockey career.”
Nolan and Phipps are both spot on, this Geneseo team was no less than fantastic in every game they played, even if the score didn’t always reflect it. They gave their heart and soul to every game and have set the foundation for what one can expect to be more than a few great Geneseo field hockey teams going forward.