SUNYAC points system ranks top overall programs

Named after the longtime State University of New York Athletic Conference commissioner, the Dr. Patrick R. Damore Commissioner’s Cup, is a way of determining the overall strength of the 10 members of the SUNYAC. According to the SUNYAC website, it is a point system that is determined by the 20 different conference sports over the fall, winter and spring seasons.

A 10-point system is used in each sport. The conference champion gets 10 points, the second-place gets nine and so on and so forth. The total number of points for each school is then divided by the number of SUNYAC sports it participates in.

The winner—the team with the highest average—is announced at the end of the year.

Geneseo leads the competition for the 2014 fall conference championships with SUNY Cortland and SUNY Oneonta trailing behind.

Geneseo’s success has been due to the four SUNYAC titles that the school has won this fall: tennis, women’s soccer, men’s cross country and women’s cross country. The field hockey team also accrued a high mark of eight after its surprising run to the SUNYAC Tournament Championship.

Geneseo student shares World Cup experience

The FIFA World Cup is an incredible event that occurs once every four years, allowing people from all over the world to unite under the name of sport. As the most watched sporting event in the world, the World Cup has high demands for tickets as well. The summer 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil set records for requested tickets—11 million requests for 3.1 million tickets. The odds of getting these tickets were a slim 28 percent, so when I was notified in February that my request for a World Cup ticket to watch Argentina vs. Nigeria was processed, I freaked out and told everyone I knew that I was going to Brazil.

I was studying abroad in Argentina that spring, so I was able to get to the city of Porto Alegre, Brazil easily. I was not only excited that I was going to watch a World Cup game, but more importantly, I was excited to watch Argentina play.

I’ve been an Argentina soccer fan my whole life. Before I get called a bandwagon or un-patriotic, my father was raised in Argentina. Growing up, I always had a blue and white jersey in my closet.

Game day was June 25. I walked to the game feeling as excited as Brick Tamland with a new lamp. I dressed down for the occasion—I only wore my Argentina jersey, Argentina shorts and Argentina sweatshirt. I left my Argentina underwear and socks at home.

Porto Alegre is the closest host World Cup city to Argentina, so there were tons of Argentinians around. My excitement was building as I walked shoulder to shoulder with my fellow Argentina fans. The adrenaline finally hit me hard as I was walking through the tunnel to find my seat. I heard the familiar songs of the Argentinian supporters such as “Vamos vamos Argentina” and “Brasil decime que se siente.” Our shouting got even louder as the World Cup teams walked out of the gate, with World Player of the Year Lionel Messi leading the walkout.

As the game went underway, it was evident that we were in for an exciting game. Messi smashed home a rebound three minutes into the game. The largely-Argentinean crowd went nuts. Beer splashed everywhere, screaming ensued and strangers hugged. Nigeria equalized a minute later but that didn’t quell the excitement. Argentina was rewarded a free kick outside of the penalty box in the 45th minute, with everyone holding their breath in anticipation of something great.

As Messi lined himself up for the kick, the crowd held its collective breath. Two minutes earlier, he barely missed a similar chance––the crowd knew that he just couldn’t disappoint this time around. They were right. Messi expertly curved the ball to the right side of the net, with Nigerian goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama frozen in place. Mass hysteria ensued.

The game ended with a 3-2 score, but the game was a lot more than just numbers for me. I was able to watch the eventual World Cup finalists, my hero Messi and I was able to have an experience I may never have again in my life. I have yet to stop telling people about my experience and I think that when I’m an old man, my grandkids will be tired of me telling them about the time I went to watch Argentina at the World Cup.

Men’s soccer season ends in SUNYAC semifinals

The Geneseo men’s soccer team was picking up momentum at the right time as it defeated both St. John Fisher College and SUNY Potsdam on Oct. 29 and Saturday Nov. 1 respectively, but was unable to continue its success against SUNY Oneonta on Wednesday Nov. 5. The Knights thrashed Fisher 3-0. Head coach Dominic Oliveri was obviously pleased with the win, saying he was glad to see the Knights put up more than one goal in the win.

“I’m glad that we were able to give ourselves some room for error during the game,” Oliveri said. “We haven’t put up a multiple-goal win since the beginning of October. I was really pushing it on the guys for the week of Nov. 1.”

Oliveri also said that he was happy that the Knights have not only scored on set pieces, but also on the run of play.

“That’s something we worked on at practice,” he said. “All of our goals against Fisher were from the run of play. It was encouraging to see since that was what we wanted before starting the playoffs.”

The Knights continued to win as they rolled past Potsdam to launch them into the SUNYAC semifinals. Like their previous game against Fisher, the Knights tallied multiple goals to top the Bears 2-0. Oliveri said that he had expected the results, despite the team losing to Potsdam 1-0 on Oct. 25.

“We played a good game against them a week ago,” he said. “We came into this game confident that we’d come out with the win.”

The Knights blitzed the Bears with 21 shots—10 on goal. They were in high spirits as they looked forward to their showdown against undefeated SUNY Oneonta. Oliveri said that he really believed the team had a chance against the Red Dragons.

“We’re winning games at the right time of the year and I feel good about the game,” Oliveri said.

He also said an important tactic for the game was the defense.

“They are the number one defense in the conference and we are the second best defense,” Oliveri said. “Based on the way we’re playing right now, I think it’ll be a low-scoring game. In fact, I think we have it in us to win the whole thing.”

Oliveri’s prediction did not come true as Oneonta shut the Knights out 4-0. Junior midfielder Colin Volpe assisted on two of the goals for the Red Dragons. The Knights were outshot by Oneonta 13-5, with junior goalkeeper Logan Calvey making seven saves throughout the game.

The Knights finish their season with 11 wins and a semifinal playoff berth—a big improvement from last year where they did not even make it into the playoffs.

“The guys have done a great job all season and we’ve really bounced back from last year,” Oliveri said. “We were disappointed we didn’t make the playoffs last year, so I like where we are as a team now.”

No home playoff match for men’s soccer

Unlike last season, the Geneseo men’s soccer team was able to make it into the SUNYAC playoffs this year. The Knights split games against SUNY Plattsburgh on Oct. 24 and SUNY Potsdam on Saturday Oct. 25—beating the former 1-0 and losing to the latter 0-1. Even though Plattsburgh outshot the Knights 12-7, junior goalkeeper Logan Calvey was able to hold onto the lead created on a free kick from senior midfielder Neil Allen. The win against Plattsburgh ensured the Knights admission into the SUNYAC playoffs.

Geneseo was unable to find the back of the net against Potsdam with a playoff game on the line. Head coach Dominic Oliveri said that the Knights may have played their best game of the season, but they were unable to capitalize on their six shots on goal in the second half by junior midfielder Jaisen Clark and Allen.

“With possessions, they didn’t have much of the ball,” Oliveri said. “We held the ball for long, long stretches. And we not only held possession, but we were dangerous. We had a handful of chances against them. We were extremely disappointed at the end result.”

The game against Potsdam put the Knights into fifth place in the SUNYAC rankings and set them up for a rematch with the Bears on Saturday Nov. 1. Oliveri said that he needs to work on a few things with the team before the game.

“Offensively, we’re struggling to put goals in the back of the net,” Oliveri said. “It’s leaving teams in the game.”

As the playoffs begin, however, Oliveri said that he thinks the Knights match up well against Potsdam, despite their recent loss.

“I like the matchup just because we played extremely well against them and I don’t think that they will be able to keep us off the board a second time through,” he said. “I’m pretty happy about the rematch.”

Oliveri also said that the team is looking forward to the matchup.

“We think, deep down, that we’re the better team,” Oliveri said. “So from a satisfaction standpoint, I think it’s nice that we get to see them again and play there since we played well on turf. I don’t know if ‘revenge’ is the right word, but I think it’s a little extra motivation because I know we’re the better team.”

For Geneseo, all sights are set on the Saturday Nov. 1 playoff game to be played at 1 p.m. at Potsdam.

Men’s soccer hits the road with eyes on SUNYACs

The Geneseo men’s soccer team split a pair of games against SUNY Oswego and SUNY Cortland on Oct. 17 and Saturday Oct. 18, dropping the first game then coming back to defeat Cortland the next day. The Knights were unable to find the back of the net throughout the weekend, tallying just one goal. The team is currently fourth in the SUNYAC standings and is in position to make the SUNYAC tournament. The Knights kicked off the weekend against fifth-place Oswego. Despite their superior record, the Knights were unable to vanquish the Lakers. Head coach Dominic Oliveri said that he was disappointed that his team was not able to make a mark on the score sheet.

“We held the ball in possession on our side of the field most of the game,” he said. “It’s disappointing to hold the ball in possession for that long and not score. We just couldn’t get anything accomplished on the offensive end.”

The Knights backfield was able to hold Oswego to only three shots on goal, but one goal from sophomore defender Brody Magro sealed the deal for the Lakers.

The Knights then went on to face second-place Cortland. Against all odds, the Knights were able to win against their playoff-bound opponent after senior midfielder Connor Beisner scored his second goal of the season.

“We really needed this win. We played a tough team and we really showed that we were the better team,” Oliveri said. “It was a good all-around game for our offense and our defense.”

In the coming week of Friday Oct. 24, the Knights will be preparing themselves for a run at the SUNYAC playoffs. The race to the playoffs will not be easy for the Knights. Oliveri outlined the best and worst case scenarios—they are quite different.

“Best case scenario, we climb up to number three in the rankings and we get home field for our opener,” he said. “Worst case scenario, we can drop out of playoff contention altogether, so the next few games are very important to us.”

The Knights’ final SUNYAC games against SUNY Plattsburgh and SUNY Potsdam will be on the road. This would normally be a disadvantage compared to playing games on their home field. This isn’t the case, however, for Geneseo.

“I actually don’t know why, but we played some of our best games on the road,” Oliveri said. “Maybe it’s because the guys spend more time with one another because they’re at the hotel instead of just going back to a suite or a dorm room. I have no idea why, but I’m not too worried about [these games].”

The Knights hit the road on Friday Oct. 24 against Plattsburgh and Saturday Oct. 25 against Potsdam.

Men’s soccer splits another SUNYAC weekend

The Geneseo men’s soccer team split another set of conference games as the Knights rolled past SUNY New Paltz on Oct. 3, but were unable to defeat SUNY Oneonta on Saturday Oct. 4. The Knights extended their winning streak to three games in a row when they defeated New Paltz 3-1, with junior defender Terence McGovern, junior defender Brad Campion and senior forward Jason Iannone capitalizing on early opportunities in the first half against New Paltz.

Head coach Dominic Oliveri said that he was happy with the early lead that the Knights got against their opponents.

“New Paltz is one of those teams that can be tricky and we jumped on them early,” he said.

All the goals in the game were scored in the first half. Oliveri said that the wind played a big role in the game––in the first half, the wind was on the Knights’ side. Once the wind shifted in favor to New Paltz, Oliveri applauded his team’s defensive efforts.

“In the second half, New Paltz had the wind and it was a big advantage at times,” Oliveri said. “We had to defend and we defended really well in the second half. We really limited their chances.”

Despite cruising past New Paltz, the Knights were unable to carry the high energy of the victory over to the game against fifth-ranked Oneonta.

The Knights began the game sluggishly, getting outshot nine-to-five in the first half. Oneonta also scored two goals in the first half and was able to keep the Knights at bay until the Red Dragons conceded a penalty.

“I knew it was going to be a close game since Oneonta is the top team in our conference,” Oliveri said. “We were playing well so I thought it would be a really close game. The score indicates that it was a close game, but emotionally we could not keep up. That was the big disappointment for me.”

After senior midfielder Connor Beisner connected on a penalty kick, the Knights had time to tie the game. Unfortunately, they were not able to put the ball in the net again.

“Even when we made the game 2-1, we scored with 12 minutes left—which is an eternity in soccer—I thought it would bring a sense of urgency,” Oliveri said. “But even then, it wasn’t good enough.”

Heading into fall break, Oliveri is looking ahead to Geneseo’s next conference game against SUNY Brockport on Saturday Oct. 11.

“If we come against Brockport like we did against Oneonta, we’d get crushed,” Oliveri said. “I’m a firm believer in working hard. We just have to compete for 90 minutes––if we do that, we’ll be in every game.”

Men’s soccer splits conference openers

The Geneseo men’s soccer team may have began its SUNYAC campaign with a rough start against SUNY Fredonia, but the Knights made up for it with a 2-1 win against Buffalo State. The Knights lost to Fredonia 1-0 Sept. 26, holding off Fredonia’s offense up until the final minutes of the game.

“Fredonia is having a pretty good year and they had a good run of form lately,” head coach Dominic Oliveri said.

The game was the first conference game of the season and Oliveri said that he had expected to see a high level of intensity during the game.

“I was trying to get the team to realize that the game was going to be much more intense and physical; that we needed to be much more engaged,” he said.

Geneseo and Fredonia battled for possession and exchanged opportunities to score throughout the entire game. Fredonia outshot the Knights 11-9, but Oliveri thought Geneseo played at a higher level for at least part of the game.

“I thought we were the better team in the second half,” he said. “We had four or five really good chances, whereas they had one or two.”

Despite these opportunities, Geneseo has not been able to put the ball into the back of the net this season.

“We’re getting quality chances—which are a good thing—but we’re not finishing,” Oliveri said. “Mentality-wise, it’s getting to our heads.”

Going into the game against Buffalo State, Oliveri needed his team to bounce back strong.

“You can’t afford to lose back-to-back games in a weekend,” he said. “As soon as the Fredonia game was over, I told them to move on and look forward to tomorrow.”

The Knights confidence was initially shaken after Buffalo State scored three minutes into the first half. Geneseo went into halftime down 1-0, but they were able to turn it around by scoring two goals in the second half.

Oliveri said that after he substituted a few players, the team was able to win the game back. Junior defender Brad Campion and sophomore midfielder John Leva both scored, securing the win for the Knights.

Oliveri said that he is looking forward to the next SUNYAC games against SUNY New Paltz and SUNY Oneonta on Friday Oct. 3 and Saturday Oct. 4, respectively.

Editor’s note:

The Knights beat Nazareth College 3-0 on Tuesday Sept. 30.

Men's soccer aims to rebound after defeat at hobart

The Geneseo men’s soccer team has been unable to string back-to-back wins this season. The Knights secured a 4-2 win against Alfred State on Sept. 17, but fell to Hobart College on Saturday Sept. 20 by a score of 3-1. The squad began the week against Alfred and was able to overcome a first-half deficit en route to victory. The Pioneers scored two early goals to put them up 2-0 against the Knights. Geneseo sophomore forward Mike Skrzypczyk was able to strike first for the Knights, but the team was still down one going into halftime.

The Knights drew first blood in the second half, as senior forward Richard Bellusci scored the equalizer in the 47th minute. Geneseo did not look back, scoring two unanswered goals. Junior forwards Stanley Egbuchulam and Jesse Levy were the scorers of the Knights’ third and fourth goals, respectively.

Head coach Dominic Oliveri said he was very impressed with the turnaround—attributing the win to sparks off the bench.

“The biggest difference-makers were obviously from the bench,” Oliveri said. “I went to six or seven guys in the first half which I typically don’t do... We weren’t playing well at all and I just needed a different energy level and those guys came in and won the game for us.”

The sparks off the bench were key to Geneseo’s success in the second half.

“They played the majority of the game—for the rest of the game,” Oliveri said. “I didn’t take many of them out so it was nice to see.”

Oliveri said that because of the impressive play from the bench, he gave a few of the role players a chance to start against Hobart.

“Against Hobart, I changed some of the lineup and I put some of those guys in the starting lineup,” Oliveri said.

The Knights were unable to keep their momentum in their loss to Hobart. Oliveri said that Geneseo did not play badly, but the team simply failed to capitalize on opportunities. The Knights tallied 17 shots against the Statesmen, while Hobart was only able to get 9 shots.

“We didn’t play a bad game,” Oliveri said. “We dominated the first half. We had a lot of scoring opportunities that we were unable to convert. It’s a tough pill to swallow.”

The Knights begin their SUNYAC play this coming week and Oliveri said that he is still searching for the answer for the team’s success.

“I’ve been with the same starting 11 for … five or six games,” Oliveri said. “After Alfred, I thought we needed a change because we were not off to good starts. Against Hobart, the energy was great, but we found ourselves down ... At this point, it’s just finding the right combination of players to set the tone for the game.”

Knights look to rebound after disappointing draw

The Geneseo men’s soccer team tried to overcome its loss to St. Lawrence University by striving to beat a winless Ithaca College on Sept. 13. They were not able to yield positive results, however, as the Knights scrapped out a 1-1 draw. “I expected it to be a close game, but I expected us to win,” head coach Dominic Oliveri said. “There’s no doubt about it.”

The Knights started the game being able to keep up with an invigorated Ithaca squad playing their home opener. Geneseo tallied six shots, netting one goal after junior defender Chris Kanaval scored his first of the season off a header from a perfect cross by senior midfielder Patrick Gunty.

With the lead at halftime, the Knights were unable to keep up their intensity and let a goal in as the second half started. Ithaca’s senior back Casey Williamson was able to score from an assist by junior back Jordan Filipowich. During the second half, the Knights could not recover and they were outshot by the Bombers eight to one. “I was disappointed. We were in the lead going into halftime,” Oliveri said. “With a team like that, I would think we could finish off the game but we didn’t. This was probably the first game out of our five where, for the majority, we just didn’t play well.”

When asked about what went wrong during the game, Oliveri said that the team did not start off with the right intensity and that they were unable to capitalize on improved play as the game continued. “I don’t think we were focused offensively at all,” he said.

Oliveri said that he does not want to dwell on the tie against Ithaca as he hopes to improve against Alfred University and Hobart and William Smith Colleges.

“It’s only one game––we played one bad game out of our five, so I will not look too much into it,” Oliveri said. “I want to continue to focus on this week. If there are concerns that develop over and over again, that will be something we will work on. But being only one game, I just want to move on.”

Men's soccer optimistic after split in non-conference

The Geneseo men’s soccer team split a pair of games between Clarkson University and St. Lawrence University on Sept. 5 and Saturday Sept. 6. The Knights easily handled Clarkson with a 2-0 final score, while they faltered against St. Lawrence, losing by a score of 2-1. Despite the outcome, the Knights displayed encouraging performances according to head coach Dominic Oliveri. In fact, he said that the team played worse against Clarkson than it did against St. Lawrence.

“We started off really sluggish. It’s hard to play these back-to-back games and it’s hard not to look ahead to the better team,” Oliveri said. “I think we got caught a little bit looking ahead and we just were not ourselves.”

Geneseo was able to pick up the pace during the second half as junior back Terence McGovern and senior midfielder Patrick Gunty were able to put up tallies on the scoreboard in the 74th and 77th minute, respectively.

“The first half was kind of a defensive struggle,” Oliveri said. “Neither team was doing much and I wasn’t too happy at halftime. The second half was different. We didn’t play great, but we put them under constant pressure.”

Although the Knights were able to get the win against Clarkson, Oliveri said that he thinks that the team played a lot better against St. Lawrence. The Knights controlled the game from the get-go, outshooting St. Lawrence 13-4. Geneseo started the game with intensity, but was unable to break the deadlock as they went into the half 0-0.

“I thought in the first half, we played really well and we had a lot of the run of the play,” Oliveri said. “It was a little unfortunate to be 0-0 at the half.”

St. Lawrence drew first blood as forward Morgan Smith took advantage of a Knights turnover and converted it into the back of the net. Geneseo then clawed its way back into the game at the 81st minute when Gunty curled in a cross to senior midfielder Connor Beisner. While unable to direct the header to goal, Beisner deflected the ball to junior midfielder Jaisen Clark, who was able to strike home.

The game went into a golden goal overtime and while the Knights controlled the possession of the overtime, St. Lawrence midfielder Ross Brandell converted a strike off the crossbar for a Saints win.

The Knights will hope to reverse their fortune against Ithaca College on Saturday Sept. 13. Oliveri said that he will look forward to the upcoming games and that he hopes the team continues their strong play.

“We hope to continue to play well,” Olveri said. “We have to score a little more on the run of play. But I think we’ll be alright. I’m really looking forward to the next few games.”

Knights 1-1 after Drew Fall Festival Tournament

While the school year has just begun, the Geneseo men’s soccer team has been hard at work preparing for the season. The Knights opened the season up with the Drew Tournament in Madison, New Jersey from Aug. 29 to 30. Geneseo hoped to defeat both Drew University and Susquehanna University but only won against the latter. The Knights' 2014 campaign started on Aug. 29 against Drew with a 1-0 loss. Junior goalkeeper Logan Calvey made two saves during the game and kept the clean sheet up until the 74th minute when John Nogiewich of Drew broke the deadlock.

“The two games that we played were very similar,” head coach Dominic Oliveri said. “We held possession well during the game and we held the run of play. We just did not capitalize on some opportunities that were presented to us.”

The Knights were presented with plenty of opportunities throughout the game. The team outshot Drew 14-11, but was unable to capitalize on its chances.

The Drew Tournament continued on Aug. 30 for Geneseo’s victory against Susquehanna. The Knights got off to a slow start, but then hit the back of the net in the beginning of the second half. Junior midfielder Jaisen Clark scored an unassisted goal. The Knights then tallied another goal as sophomore Matt D’Amico connected on a cross by senior midfielder Connor Beisner.

“The opportunities we missed against Drew, we got them against Susquehanna. We were able to capitalize on all the chances and we were firing on all cylinders,” Oliveri said. “Susquehanna is a team that made nationals the past two years, so I was very happy with the result.”

This year, Oliveri has implemented a new formation as well as a different emphasis on play strategy.

“Last year, we used a traditional 4-4-2 formation, but this year we are using a 1-5-4 formation and so far the guys really like it,” Oliveri said.

Geneseo lost a few seniors this past year, including captain defender Pat Lynch. Junior transfer Brad Campeon has filled the position well, however, exemplifying the depth that the Knights have this year.

The Knights hope to continue their winning ways in their season opener against Clarkson University at Geneseo on Friday Sept. 5, a team that the Knights have beaten each of the last two years.