Junior attacker Patrick Morris carries the ball behind the Baldwin Wallace Yellowjackets’ goal in the team’s game on Wednesday March 13. Geneseo lost to the Yellowjackets 13-10 (Udeshi Seneviratne/Photo Editor).
The Geneseo men’s lacrosse team squared off against the St. Lawrence University Saints for their 2019 home opener on Saturday March 9.
Geneseo had to battle the weather along with the Saints. The Knights’ practice schedule was altered by temperatures below 20 degrees throughout the week.
“It stinks when we can’t get out onto the field to get up and down and have to practice in the gym,” sophomore midfielder Cameron Chiodo said. “But [head coach Nick Fiorentino] does a good job creating a practice to make it work and we still work hard and get better [in the gym].”
The cold was not a factor, however, for the Knights on gameday. “The cold doesn’t affect our play that much when we are out there running around,” Chiodo said.
The Knights got off to a slow start against the Saints allowing three goals in the first period of play and a fourth just three minutes into the second period. Down 4-0, Geneseo was still poised for an early comeback.
“We just believed in each other, we know we are a good team and can play with anyone we just needed that first goal to hit the back of the net to get us rolling,” Chiodo said. “We just kept fighting and stuck to what we know.”
Chiodo was the Knight to break through with the first goal, ending Geneseo’s brief scoring drought.
Geneseo continued to claw back into the game with a goal from first-year midfielder Jake Steffen and two goals from junior attackman Patrick Morris.
Morris’ second goal of the game came off a filthy behind-the-back-shot while Geneseo was a man-up to tie the game at 4-4.
After Geneseo erased the four-goal deficit, St. Lawrence netted a goal with one minute remaining in the first half to take a 5-4 lead.
St. Lawrence built off the momentum they regained late in the first half. In the second half of play, Geneseo was held scoreless as St. Lawrence scored three more times to secure the 9-4 victory, spoiling Geneseo’s home opener.
Geneseo was outshot in the game 34-21 and lost four more turnovers than their opponents, but junior goaltender Tyler Wetzel made 10 saves, one more than St. Lawrence’s goalie.
Geneseo also had the advantage on faceoffs 12-5 thanks to first-year midfielder Tommy DeVito having a nearly perfect game on faceoffs, winning six of his seven chances.
Another encouraging mark was Geneseo holding St. Lawrence scoreless while the Saints were a man up on three separate occasions. It was the second consecutive game where Geneseo held their opponents scoreless while down a man.
The Knights then took on the Baldwin Wallace Yellowjackets on Wednesday March 13. Geneseo fell by a score of 13-10 to their undefeated opponents from Ohio. First-year midfielder Jake Steffen tallied two goals and assist for the Knights in the contest. The team competed hard and the game was tied at 4-4 at halftime, but the Knights were never able to pull ahead in the game and played from behind for most of the second half.
Geneseo will finish up their three-game home stand with a game against the Clarkson Golden Knights at College Stadium on Friday March 15 at 4 p.m.