Despite odds, field hockey takes SUNYAC title

After overcoming a poor start to the season, the Geneseo field hockey team won the 2016 SUNYAC Championship title. This is the second time the Knights have taken home the trophy since 2010. The Knights had a disheartening start to the season, only winning one out of their nine matches in the month of September. About half way through the season, however, the women seemed to find their groove, winning eight of their last nine matches in the month of October.

After clinching a playoff berth and the No. 3 seed in the SUNYAC Tournament, the Knights were matched against the No. 2 seed SUNY New Paltz. Geneseo and the New Paltz Hawks squared off earlier in the season, which resulted in a home upset for the Knights. This time around, however, New Paltz faced a completely different Geneseo field hockey team. The Hawks had been looking for their fifth consecutive conference title, only to fall 1-0 to the Knights at New Paltz.

At the beginning of the year, a victory against New Paltz seemed to be very far-fetched, but seeing the Knights’ recent success, the victory wasn’t much of a surprise.

“We improved a lot as a team throughout the season,” freshman midfielder Ariana Walczyk said.

The Knights then went on to face the SUNY Oneonta Red Dragons in the 2016 SUNYAC Championship game. Geneseo put on a thriller for the home crowd, winning the game 3-2 in overtime.

The star of the game was junior forward Giovanna Fasanello, who scored all three goals against Oneonta including the eventual game-winning goal in overtime. The hard fought game secured the Knights their first SUNYAC title since 2010 and a spot in the 2016 NCAA Division III Field Hockey Tournament.

“It was so exciting; there was a lot of adrenalin. Coach [Jess] Seren was extremely happy,” Walczyk said. “I’ve never really been on a winning team, so this feels great.”

Geneseo made its second appearance in the NCAA Tournament in franchise history. Back in 2010, the Stevens Institute of Technology Ducks eliminated the Knights in the first round. This year, the Knights traveled to Keene State, where their season ended in a 3-1 defeat against the Owls.

Keene State put up impressive numbers this year, going 17-3 during the regular season and winning their fourth consecutive Little East Conference Championship. The Owls were also in an arguably more challenging conference for field hockey.

Although the Knights made it to the NCAA Tournament, perhaps the bigger story is their impressive turn around this season. Many players have boasted about how far this team has come, starting as a dysfunctional group of talented players and ending as a solid, high performing field hockey team. The team didn’t even have the utmost expectations, especially after the first part of this season.

“We lost a lot of really good seniors last year, so we weren’t necessarily expecting to make it this far,” Walczyk said.

Looking forward, the Knights can feel confident in their successful season. They hope to continue their momentum into next year’s season.

Field hockey to host SUNYAC finals

Following a rollercoaster of a season filled with mountainous ups and ugly downs, the Geneseo field hockey team entered the SUNYAC playoffs on a high note on Wednesday Nov. 2. In the semifinal matchup against SUNY New Paltz, the Knights won 1-0. The team will face SUNY Oneonta on Saturday Nov. 5 in the tournament finals.

The Knights have had an impressive second half of the season, winning eight of their nine matches played in the month of October. This momentous second half of the season stands in stark contrast to the rough first half of the season. The team had a disappointing 1-8 record for the duration of September. In addition to a poor record, the chances of a playoff berth were bleak.

The team seems to have adapted a completely new vibe, outscoring their opponents 38 to six in their last 10 games. As a matter of fact, the Knights went on a rare eight-game winning streak during October—the second longest streak in Geneseo field hockey history.

“Once we started feeling how it felt to win, we really turned on the jets,” freshman forward Elisa Arcara said. “We started to get more focused.”

Despite having an impressive record in October, the Knights lost their last regular season game to the University of Rochester Yellow Jackets 3-2. The Yellow Jackets are currently ranked No. 4 in the North Atlantic Division of the NCAA Division III regional rankings. The Knights gave them a run for their money, however, as the close game ended in a stroke, which is a penalty resulting in a shoot-out.

Moving into the SUNYAC Tournament, though, Geneseo was prepared for a fight. The Knights had already faced New Paltz once this season in a game where the outcome was not good. After giving up five goals, the Knights took a 5-1 loss on their home turf, contributing to and extending the winning drought the women faced in September.

In a hard fought game, the Knights pulled off the victory against New Paltz thanks to a goal at the 30-minute mark by junior midfielder Diana Ruggiero on a penalty corner. The best performance of the game, however, went to junior goalie Nicole Gregg, who sealed the Knights’ sixth and most important shutout of the season. Gregg had matched her season-high of 11 saves. She carried out her heroic performance despite the Knights getting outshot 21-9.

In the 2015 SUNYAC Tournament semifinals, the Knights were in a very similar situation against New Paltz, as Geneseo lost 2-1 to them. This time around, however, the Knights aim to win the final in what looks to be an intense SUNYAC Tournament final against Oneonta on Saturday Nov. 5 at Geneseo.

Following a win in the championship game, Geneseo can claim a spot in the NCAA Division III Tournament.

Field hockey rides out winning streak

Geneseo field hockey won its eighth straight game on Wednesday Oct. 26. The win against Keuka College on Thursday Oct. 20, however, was extra special for the team because it marked head coach Jess Seren’s 100th career victory. “My successes are a reflection of the players I’ve been fortunate enough to coach,” Seren said. “I’ve had the privilege to work with great student athletes here at Geneseo but, more importantly, they’re great people.”

In addition to the players Seren has worked with within the sport, she expressed that this achievement is just as impressive for her as it is for the assistant coaches.

“All of the assistant coaches I’ve had—who dedicate so much of their time and energy to help this program—deserve recognition, too,” Seren said. “They’ve all made my job enjoyable and rewarding; those 100 wins go out to each of them.”

The team evened its record at 9-8, after beginning the season at 1-8. The team has fought hard all season and new player adjustments on the field—as well as the continued team bonding off the field—have proven to be quite effective.

Now, with only two games left in the regular season, Seren and the team are looking toward the SUNYAC Tournament. Their momentum will certainly be beneficial for the team, as they will be competing against the top two ranked teams—SUNY Cortland and SUNY New Paltz—in addition to SUNY Oneonta for the title. The top four SUNY teams make the playoffs and the competition is based on regular season conference records.

The semifinals will take place on Wednesday Nov. 2, where Geneseo—who clinched the third seed in their victories last week—will face New Paltz at 2 p.m. This game will be an away game for the Knights, but that has not stopped them yet this season, as they’ve won six of their nine away games.

Although the stakes are higher, the team will move into the playoff games just as they’ve gone into every previous game.

“Playoffs are treated the same as the regular season. We take one game at a time, get to know our opponent, but really focus on our team and executing our game,” Seren said. “Obviously we know that come playoff time, without a win, there is no tomorrow. We don’t let that change what we want to do out there. At this point in the season, we are who we are and we will continue to be the best version of ourselves with each opponent we face.”

Their unwavering confidence in this speaks to the players not only as athletes, but as people. Additionally, the semifinals against New Paltz will have some extra meaning for the Knights. When the two teams met earlier this season, Geneseo lost 5-1 at home.

“It was a much more even game than the score indicates, and we are a different team now than we were then,” Seren said. “We are stronger and more confident on both ends of the ball, and the players are really connecting with each other out on the field. It will be a good matchup.”

The team has come very far this season and will look to continue to succeed in the SUNYAC Tournament.

Field hockey revamps, makes comeback

The field hockey team has picked up their stride after a record of 1-8 in September, as they work toward having incredible success for the month of October. The team has won their last six games, three of which were against SUNY conference teams SUNY Morrisville, SUNY Brockport and SUNY Oswego. By winning against Oswego on Saturday Oct. 15, the Knights clinched the third seed in the SUNYAC Tournament.

Throughout the slump, head coach Jess Seren said that her team would be “a force to be reckoned with” and that they had not given up on the 2016 season. She was right.

Even though the Knights’ success has shown on the field, however, the team has not changed their overall outlook on the game. “We are maintaining the same objective we’ve had all season: take one game at a time and focus on improving each time we step onto the field…whether that be in practice or in a game,” Seren said.

The Knights have looked at their tough schedule not as a burden, but as an asset. “[We] really look at ourselves critically, which hopefully allows us to really connect and peak at the right time,” Seren said.

Keeping that attitude in mind, the Knights continue to fight to have their hard work pay off. They are looking toward the end of their regular season and ahead to conference play.

Seren credits the recent victories not to an outburst of luck, but to the dedication the players have been putting forth all season. Their efforts together as a team have clicked. “After making some player adjustments throughout the first part of the season, we’ve found a lineup that really suits our strengths as a team,” Seren said. “They’re reading each other well on the field and have a lot of confidence in one another’s abilities.”

As a team, they are working efficiently, but certain players have stepped up and continue to shine. Senior midfielder and defender Maria Premo was named SUNYAC Field Hockey Defensive Athlete of the Week after her impressive four defensive saves in a single game against Oswego, which set the school’s record.

“I think our focus and consistency is really coming through—our success has been a total team effort,” Seren said. “We rely on a strong possession game to put us in the best possible position to win games and aggressive defensive pressure that starts with our forward line—both require execution and diligence from everyone.”

This record will not go to the players’ heads; they all know that there are still critical games to be played this season before the SUNYAC Tournament. They will continue to play by Seren’s philosophy of taking it one game at a time, though.

The Knights look to maintain their success at Utica College on Thursday Oct. 20 and Keuka College on Wednesday Oct. 26. Overall, their conference play will help them to prepare for the SUNYAC Tournament.

Their story this season has been one of a classic underdog, and the field hockey team’s patience and dedication finally seems to be paying off.

Field hockey hopes to improve record in upcoming games

Athletes are often told, “It’s not always about winning or the final score.” Even though sometimes that can be frustrating, it is the truth, and the Geneseo field hockey team is the perfect example of why. While the team puts 100 percent of their effort into every game on the field, they also must put work in off the field. For example, team bonding is very important for the field hockey team, which was stressed during the pre-season.

“We focus on doing team activities … for the team to get to know each other better. There were several nights we had them doing things after our double session practices,” head coach Jess Seren said. Some of those activities included movie nights, ice cream nights and one of the assistant coaches even had the women over to her house.

The Knights also understand the importance of adjustment. Incoming freshmen players must learn how to navigate their own college life, while simultaneously learning this new team’s philosophy and offensive and defensive strategies on the field. One of the biggest adjustments these players need to make is playing under “a coach with a different philosophy and a different style of play,” Seren said. The speed of play is also a lot faster than it is at the high school level, but the structure of having classes then practice later in the afternoon is one similarity for the transitioning players.

“I even think players have more flexibility with their time in college because some of them are done with class at 11 in the morning,” Seren said.

Some players pick these changes up faster than others. Ultimately, through practice and team bonding activities, the Knights will grow as a whole team.

“I think that’s why the team bonding aspect is important—because it gets them more comfortable, and the more comfortable they feel with their teammates around them, the smoother the transition from playing high school to the college game is,” Seren said.

One last adjustment that the team has been working through since last season is the addition of the turf field, and so far there have been nothing but positive reports. The biggest difference, Seren said, is getting to train on a surface and a facility that promotes their stick work and stick skills. It also helps in regard to their home and away schedule, because there were multiple teams who wouldn’t come to Geneseo because of the grass.

In terms of scores, Seren is still confident that the Knights will be a “dangerous” force later this season. “[We’ll] peak at the right time because we’re doing good things out there,” Seren said.

In their game against SUNY Cortland on Friday Sept. 16, the team lost 5-2, but the score line was deceiving. The rest of the statistics were pretty even, as both teams had 10 in-penalty corners and the shots were 13-12, with Cortland only leading Geneseo by one attempt.

“Our record is our record, but it’s not indicative of how we’ve been playing and the growth that we’ve had,” Seren said.

The team knows that their record does not mean everything and that they can continue to work with the success they’ve achieved throughout the season thus far. The Knights look to play two games against conference rivals SUNY Oneonta and SUNY New Paltz on Friday Sept. 23 and Saturday Sept. 24, respectively, at home.

Despite losses, field hockey remains positive

There is no doubt that the loss of five senior players has had an impact on the Geneseo field hockey team at the start of this season. The Knights have had a slow 0-5 start to the season, but they are taking the losses as learning experiences. “It allows [us] to look at games more critically, so we’re making adjustments after each game and talking about what we can improve on and get better at so we’re ready for our conference opponents,” head coach Jess Seren said.

With the influx of new players and the key losses, the team is still trying to figure out positions for the ultimate goal of sustaining offensive attacks throughout the game while cutting down on the opponents’ chances to score. A major aspect they are working on is “how to best utilize the players we have.”

Seren noted the difference between playing here at Geneseo as opposed to playing at other schools. “Anytime we play a home game, we’re comfortable. We practice on these fields, and it’s always nice to play in front of your home crowd,” she said.

Of course, the team knows that while home field advantage is beneficial, they are also always prepared to play anywhere on the road. The sharpest contrast is the surface change. The team must adjust each game to the surface they’re playing on. What is seemingly a minor detail for an observer is a different style of play for the players.

The team continues to hold a positive attitude, however, as they move forward into the season. “We want to face good competition early on to measure up and see where we stand,” Seren said.

The players know that ultimately it will help the team as a whole, and that matters the most when they reach their SUNYAC competition. Their ideology relies on improvement, not merely focusing on the wins and losses. Instead, these Knights take it one game at a time and one day at a time. Every opportunity they have, they try to play competitively.

So far this season, Seren said that the greatest strengths she has seen in the team is in their skill level and speed, especially the forwards and the midfielders. “We find ourselves in fast break situations a lot, and we’ve just got to do a better job of capitalizing on those kind of opportunities,” Seren said.

When discussing individual achievements, the coach pointed to sophomore midfielder Maria Dillingham, who has scored in three of the five games so far this season. Last season, she scored just one goal, so she has taken the message of improvement to heart. According to Seren, this season Dillingham has “stepped into a starting role,” and she’s been doing really well offensively.

The Knights played most recently on Tuesday Sept. 13 in a home game against Hamilton, losing 3-1. They take to the road once again on Friday Sept. 16 for a game at SUNY Cortland.

Field hockey falls short of SUNYAC title

The Geneseo field hockey team had previously expressed their confidence about earning the SUNYAC title going into the SUNYAC Tournament, but they fell to SUNY New Paltz with a 2-1 loss in the SUNYAC semifinal on Wednesday Nov. 4. The women had a very intense season that proved to be successful, however, up until the final game.

Having only three losses throughout October, the Knights went into the semifinal at third place in the SUNYAC standings. They had a solid start to the game against New Paltz, too. Sophomore forward Diana Ruggiero put them on the board during the first half of the game, giving them an advantage going into the second half. By the 54th minute in the second half, however, New Paltz tied up the game at 1-1 and then shortly after put away their second goal, allowing them to take the win.

Even though they may not have won the game, the Knights still left the tournament with several accomplishments—both individually and as a team. This was the women’s sixth consecutive time in the SUNYAC Tournament, demonstrating how hard they have worked these past few years. For senior goalkeeper Dayna Mercer, this was an impressive way for her to end her field hockey career—she made 14 saves for final record of 474 saves throughout these last four seasons.

While this season is now over, head coach Jess Seren pointed out how far the players have come as a team. One of the key things that Seren worked on throughout the season was bettering her players both as athletes and as teammates.

“Our goal going into each season is to focus on improving each day. We want our players to be committed to the process of getting better after every practice and every game,” Seren said. “Looking back to August when we started, it's extremely satisfying to see how much this team has transformed and grown on the field because of their dedication and work ethic throughout this season.”

After welcoming such a large amount of freshmen, it could have been a difficult season, but Seren and the upperclassmen’s leadership contributed immensely to the team’s success. The Knights’ new players will allow them to start off next season very strong, especially considering they already have a great team dynamic.

“We are graduating five incredibly talented players and leaders this year, so we will use our spring season to get an early read on the new dynamic our 2016 season will present us with,” Seren said. “Having a solid core of skilled returners leaves us feeling very optimistic and excited to build on our success [that] these five seniors have worked hard to achieve throughout the course of their four years with us.”

Field Hockey pulls out close win vs Utica College

If anyone knows how to bring their team together, it’s field hockey head coach Jessica Seren. The energy that these women have—and their respect for each other—could make all the difference in the long run for the Knights. After welcoming 10 freshmen onto the team this season, Seren made sure to focus on forming a strong team dynamic—an essential cog for building a successful season. With a schedule full of talented teams ahead, this sense of cohesion on and off the field could be a huge advantage.

“We have really good leadership and have established a culture on our team that is very welcoming, so it is an easy transition for the freshmen. We brought in an organization to do a team-building workshop with us to help start our season off strong,” Seren said. “Optimal Performance Associates came in and did a day-long team building workshop for us where we did a lot of activities that were focused around trust and communication.”

Optimal Performance Associates is an organization that focuses on providing fun team-building workshops and seminars for groups who want to strengthen their sense of comradery, capitalizing on the idea that a successful team needs to have trust, respect, common goals and positivity between team members.

This strategy proved to be effective both on and off the field for the Knights. Not only did the women become closer as friends, but they also became a stronger team. Although they may not have gotten the results that they had wanted, they fought hard during their game against Skidmore College—currently ranked fifth in the country. The heart that was put into that match motivated the team members to push themselves harder in order to prove that they can play with the best.

“The freshmen have been a great addition to the team. We are really excited to have brought in such a large class, and they have come in and picked up right where we needed them to,” Seren said. “The transition has been smooth so far—and we have a couple of them who start, a couple of them who come off the bench and we’ve got the rest of them, who are solid role players for us at the time.”

With such an abundance of new players, the team is fresh and ready to go—full of new energy and skills. The upperclassmen and the utilization of OPA certainly helped the freshmen not only with the intensity of the college game, but also with the inevitable adjustment period that comes with the first year of college.

The advantages that the Knights have as a team in regards to both talent and support should help lead them to a successful season.

Field hockey season ends with championship loss

The Geneseo field hockey team’s playoff run came to a screeching halt when the team lost the SUNYAC Tournament Championship to third-seeded SUNY New Paltz on Saturday Nov. 8. While the final score was 4-0, it did not reflect the fight the Knights put up. This game followed the Knights knocking off top-seeded SUNY Cortland in the semifinals on Nov. 5 by a score of 2-1. Although the season is now over, head coach Jess Seren could not be happier with the way her team played. “The game was closer than the score indicates and we were just not able to execute offensively, which is something that hurt us earlier in the season,” Seren said. “New Paltz was able to capitalize and [New Paltz’s] junior goalkeeper Alayna Wageman played one of her best games of the season, getting named the SUNYAC Tournament MVP.”

This game gave the Knights a final record of 9-12 in a season that no one expected them to get to the SUNYAC Tournament, let alone the championship game. Geneseo was able to beat the odds and to get to that game. Seren thinks that this game was a turning point for her team.

“It’s the second time we have made it to the championship since I have been here,” she said. “To make it to the final game as underdogs really gives us positive momentum going into spring season. We went into the tournament with nothing to lose.”

The Knights will have a spring ball season—a few games in March and April where they are allowed to practice and play against other collegiate teams of their choosing. This will be a good time to get some of the under classmen onto the field and to let them get game experience before next season.

There are three players coming back who were named All-SUNYAC selections. Junior forward Sarah Malinak and freshman midfielder Morgan Maley landed first-team selections while junior goalie Dayna Mercer earned second-team selection. Seren is confident that with these three back, her team is in a good place for next season.

“These three were recognized with this honor because of their consistency. That is one of the biggest things for us; they put us in positions to win games,” Seren said. “They might not have had the highest stats in the conference, but their hard work and leadership helped us get to the position in the tournament.”

The Knights close out the season as the SUNYAC runner-up and will look to make a run at the third championship in the program’s history next season.

Field hockey upsets Cortland, goes to championship

The Geneseo field hockey team upset the top-seeded SUNY Cortland Red Dragons on Wednesday Nov. 5 by a final score of 2-1. The Knights’ two goals came from junior midfielder Elena Hingston and freshman forward and midfielder Cara Stafford. Cortland tacked on a goal late in the game to make it 2-1, but Geneseo was in control the whole time. Head coach Jess Seren said that she was extremely confident before the game and has faith in her team’s ability and commitment.

“We are excited and ready to play,” Seren said. “We are going in knowing that postseason play is a whole different ball game. All other regular season scores do not matter and we have a different mentality now than we did before. Our players know what we have to accomplish and hopefully we can get it done.”

The Knights had only eight shots on goal, while Cortland put up 20. The defense was able to step up and create stops, which is exactly what the Knights needed to do in order to win the game.

“I wanted us to be able to walk away from that game and say we played our hardest, and we left it all out there,” Seren said. “If we want to advance to future games, we need to play to the best of our ability on both ends of the field.”

Geneseo was able to do just that with junior goalie Dayna Mercer making an impressive 13 saves. She only allowed one goal—a misplaced ball that trickled into the back of the net.

It was an impressive win for a team that was 8-11 up until that point, beating a tough Cortland team that came into the game with a 14-2 record. The Knights will now have a chance to get a bid to the NCAA tournament if they can win the SUNYAC Championship on Saturday Nov. 8 at SUNY New Paltz.

“With our tough strength of schedule and playing six top 10-ranked teams, this is what we have prepared for,” Seren said. “Our team is using those games to really build off of what we have been trying to do all season, and that is to win a SUNYAC Championship.”

The Knights will take on New Paltz on Saturday Nov. 8 at New Paltz at 1 p.m. The winner of that game will receive an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

Field hockey squeaks into tournament

The Geneseo field hockey team defeated SUNY Oswego on Saturday Oct. 25, securing them the fourth seed in the upcoming SUNYAC tournament. The Knights will be squaring up against the top-seeded SUNY Cortland on Nov. 5. The two-seed is SUNY Oneonta and the three-seed is SUNY New Paltz. Geneseo will have a tough, uphill battle against these teams, but head coach Jess Seren thinks her team is more than ready for the challenge. “Playoffs are always exciting because you can take seeding out of the picture,” Seren said. “Every team knows what is on the line and mentally, you go in with more urgency. Even though we had a tough game with Cortland during the regular season, we feel OK about playing them in the first round because we know we did not play our best last time.”

The one issue for the Knights will be fatigue. They had a tough, double overtime loss to Ithaca College on Tuesday Oct. 28. The Knights also took down St. John Fisher College 2-1 on Wednesday Oct. 29 and they play a game at nationally-ranked University of Rochester on Saturday Nov. 1. They play these three games within five days of each other, which could be a significant factor going into the SUNYAC playoffs.

“I think mentally our team is in a good place right now and they are focused on playing these last three games to prepare for our playoff game,” Seren said. “We are not overlooking these teams by any means, but again, we are using these games as a last chance to prepare for a postseason run.”

Geneseo is going to have its work cut out for it when the team travels to face Cortland. The defense has been strong all year, but Seren believes that offense will win them games.

“We need to make sure we are smarter in the circle and capitalizing on the chances and opportunities that we get,” Seren said. “Especially when we play tougher defensive teams, we need to find other ways to score and to take advantage of the breaks in defense to run our plays.”

With the Knights split almost evenly between upper and underclassmen, there will be many questions as to how the team will prepare for SUNYAC play.

“There [are] pros and cons to being a younger team in postseason play,” Seren said. “Where you might not have the experience factor, you make up in excitement of not knowing what to expect and going out and playing hard.”

The Knights final tune-up at UOR takes place on Saturday Nov. 1 before taking on the Cortland Red Dragons at Cortland on Nov. 5.

Field Hockey has shot at playoffs

With its season coming to a close, the Geneseo field hockey team looks to make one last effort at securing the fourth seed in the SUNYAC tournament. There is just one conferenc game left—at SUNY Oswego on Saturday Oct. 25. Even at the end of the season, head coach Jess Seren says the game plan will remain unchanged. “It has been a season of trying to improve every day and every game, and we have to keep that going to round our season out, especially because the fourth and final seed in the SUNYAC is still up for grabs,” Seren said. “We are going to keep doing what we’re doing and finish the season out looking to improve one game at a time.”

The other top seeds are already locked in––SUNY New Paltz at the three seed, SUNY Oneonta at the two seed and SUNY Cortland with the number one seed. The Knights are currently fourth, but in order to secure their spot they need to win against the Lakers. If the Knights are able to win, they will then take on Cortland, who they lost to 6-0 on Oct. 17.

“The good thing about coming up against them again is we just played them,” Seren said. “I believe the score did not [represent] as big a discrepancy in our skill level as it may seem. We can use that recent game to make adjustments and hopefully be more competitive with them.”

Seren said that she wants a combination of both tough and relaxed practices.

“Walking away from the Cortland game, we know we did not play our best,” Seren said. “Practices are just going to be reminders to stay focused on the goal. We just have to make sure that with the season on the line in the playoffs that we are playing our absolute best from start to finish.”

The Knights take on Oswego Saturday Oct. 25 in the fight for the fourth seed.

Postseason in sight for field hockey

Geneseo field hockey dropped two home games on Oct. 3 and Saturday Oct. 4, both 3-1, to SUNY Oneonta and SUNY New Paltz.  Both teams were very aggressive on offense and put points on the board fast. With regard to the losses, head coach Jess Seren expressed optimism that her team will bounce back quickly. 

“These games helped us set the bar and gave our team an idea of what we need to do to be competitive in this conference,” Seren said. “In both games we were competitive, as it was hard fought for both teams.” 

Both Oneonta and New Paltz tested the Knights with stunning offensive possessions and defense that held Geneseo to just 17 total shots in both games. Despite a subpar start, Seren is confident that the game plan will stay relatively the same through the rest of the season.

“It’s not going to change much going forward, as we need to focus on ourselves, on our team and continuing to improve,” Seren said. “I think we have chosen to measure our success this season, and these losses are something we are going to carry with us for the rest of the fall.”

It is going to be up to the senior guidance of defender Ashley Favata, midfielder Cathryn Menarchem, forward Emily Topping and goalkeeper Heidi Deppmeyer to carry the team into postseason play, according to Seren. 

“If [our seniors] continue to set the example they do in practice as far as work ethic goes, then their leadership is going to carry this team,” Seren said. “As we get closer to the end of the season, it’s my hope they leave it all out on the field. I do not want them to leave Geneseo field hockey with any regrets.”

The Knights are off during the weekend of Saturday Oct. 11, giving them extra time to practice and prepare for conference rival SUNY Brockport. Seren described this upcoming game as “a good midseason test [against] … a very physical team that we have been back and forth with the past few seasons.” 

The Knights are going to have to play as hard as they can in order to get a much-needed win. Brockport currently sits at fourth in the SUNYAC standings, just one spot higher than Geneseo. If the Knights can continue to play tough and secure a win, they should be able to get a spot in the SUNYAC Tournament. 

The Knights play Brockport at home on Oct. 15 at 4 p.m.

Field hockey unfazed by loss

After a loss to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute on Sunday Sept. 28, the Geneseo field hockey team fell to 3-6 on the season. The Knights are now headed into their first SUNYAC home weekend of the season. Despite the loss, head coach Jess Seren is looking on the bright side. “The positives of the game were our defense as a team,” Seren said. “Our goalie [junior] Dayna Mercer played especially well and came up with some really nice saves.”

Despite the score being tied at halftime, Geneseo could not manage to make a final strike.

“In the second half, we outshot them 12-5 … but we just could not capitalize on our offensive opportunities, which is a big area of focus for us,” Seren said.

The Knights look to improve their SUNYAC record to 3-0 this weekend as they take on the SUNY Oneonta Red Dragons on Friday Oct. 3 and the SUNY New Paltz Hawks on Saturday Oct. 4. These will be tough games—New Paltz is the reigning conference champion and Oneonta is a team Seren describes as “offensively quick and fundamentally sound.”

The Knights sit at 1-0, one of three teams left undefeated with SUNY Cortland and SUNY Brockport. While most teams that lose a game in conference play will be able to sort out the issues before the next contest, Seren thinks that those teams are right where they want to be.

“With one loss under their belts, it is a big weekend for them in terms of making sure they do not pick up two more losses on top of that and put themselves at 1-3,” she said. “We know that we have to come ready to play no matter what and we definitely have the advantage on our home turf.”

A team’s record does not always display how well a team is truly doing––Seren had nothing but positive things to say about her team.

“Our defense has been playing well and we’ve been holding teams, but I think our offense needs to execute on the opportunities we have,” she said. “We have to be able to put a goal in early against Oneonta and build our confidence back up so we know we have the ability to score.”

The Knights play home against Oneonta on Friday Oct. 3 at 4 p.m. and Saturday Oct. 4 against New Paltz at 1 p.m.