The Geneseo women’s lacrosse team is off to a blazing start to the season with two high scoring wins. Geneseo defeated No. 13 seed SUNY Brockport 15-12, before destroying Buffalo State 17-3.
Geneseo got off to a quick start against Brockport with an 8-4 halftime advantage. Senior attackman Nicole Voci scored three first half goals, while senior midfielder Megan Henderson added two.
Late in the game, Brockport cut the Geneseo lead to two goals, before goals from Voci and senior attackman Jacqui Thorsen restored Geneseo’s four goals advantage.
Voci and Thorsen led the team with four goals each, while senior midfielder Tessa Doody led Geneseo with four assists on the night.
Junior goalie Margaret Rosachi led the way for the Geneseo defense with eight saves. Geneseo forced 23 turnovers, while only committing 17.
For her performance against Brockport, senior defender Caitlyn Merkel was named by the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC), PrestoSports Defensive Player of the Week.
Voci is very happy with the team's hot start, especially considering how long it has been since they last played.
“The Brockport game was the first game we had played in 382 days ... Not that we were counting,” Voci said. “As we continue to get more games under our belt, I think we have the potential to be unstoppable.”
Geneseo raced out to an even faster start in their win against Buffalo State. Geneseo scored five goals in the just over the first five minutes of the game, with two goals from senior attackman Hannah Marafioti, and one goal each from Voci, Doody and Henderson.
In her senior season, Marafioti has two things she would like to achieve.
“I want to help lead the team to a SUNYAC championship and most importantly, I want to enjoy every second with my teammates,” Marafioti said. “Playing a collegiate sport with some of your best friends is so special, and I want to make sure I don’t take a second for granted.”
Geneseo expanded their lead to 9-0 by halftime and 15-0 in the second half. In the second half, freshman midfielder Emily Salanger and freshman attackman Megan Cook each scored their first goal of their collegiate careers.
The Geneseo defense put up another strong showing, with Rosachi pitching a shutout in net and sophomore goalie Lindsey Isenberg seeing her first career collegiate action.
Geneseo next takes on St. John Fisher on April 10 at 4 p.m., in their lone non-league game this season.
Due to COVID-19, several changes will be in place this season. First, despite New York State giving the green light for limited spectators, SUNYAC has decided to play this season without fans.
The SUNYAC this season will also be split into east and west divisions to limit travel and potential overnight stays. Each team will face everyone in their division twice, once at home and once on the road.
Geneseo will be joined in the west division by Brockport, SUNY Fredonia, Buffalo State and SUNY Oswego.
Playing the season during a pandemic has created some difficulties for the team according to Doody.
“Being on a team has always required us to make sacrifices in terms of the ‘college experience’ and this year just brings that even further; however, everyone is committed to making this season as safe and successful as possible,” Doody said.
The team's ultimate goal is to win the SUNYAC championship this season, which the team came up just short of in 2019, losing to Brockport in the championship game, 13-4.
“The goal this year is to win the SUNYAC Championship and have a shot in the NCAA tournament,” Doody said. “During my lacrosse career at Geneseo, we have been right on the brink of the championship and NCAA each more every year.”
Geneseo will look to claim their first SUNYAC championship in program history in a season like no other. The championship game takes place on May 2.