Women’s soccer defends SUNYAC title, moves on to NCAA Tournament
The Geneseo women’s soccer team has won their second-straight SUNYAC Championship, successfully defending their title. The win came in dramatic fashion on Saturday, as several overtime periods still were not enough. When it came down to penalty kicks, the Knights completed their 1-1 (4-3) victory over SUNY Cortland.
Geneseo wasted no time getting on the board, as senior forward Lindsay Wright found the goal at the 14th minute. The assist was credited to graduate midfielder Hannah Sullivan who placed the ball perfectly from the corner kick—that goal marked ten for Wright on the season. Unfortunately the lead was quickly erased when Cortland struck just under 15 minutes later. The rest of the half was left scoreless and remained 1-1. Geneseo was outshot in the first half three to Cortland’s four, and senior goalkeeper Angel Bennett tallied one save.
The second half remained scoreless, which was fortunate for the Knights. With zero shots in the half, Geneseo did a phenomenal job defending against the 14 by Cortland. Bennett added another four saves to their stats and kept the game tied, sending it to overtime. The Knights dominated both overtime periods, shooting twice as much as the Red Dragons. Graduate forward Nicole Bell shot twice, and fellow graduate midfielder Mackenzie Griffin got one shot off as well. Sullivan was also able to tally one for herself at the end of the second overtime period. Bennett again saved two more shots to send the game to a penalty kick tiebreaker.
Cortland’s first penalty kick was stopped by a diving Bennett, giving momentum to Geneseo. Sophomore midfielders Lindsey Matthews and Lindsay Wright, as well as junior midfielder Dana Schoeps, all found the back of the net on their attempts. After several tough kicks from Cortland, the score was tied at 3-3. After Bennett recorded her seventh save of the game, Geneseo had a chance to seal the game. Griffin lined up the biggest shot of the game and fired it into the upper left corner to claim the victory.
This win marks the 10th SUNYAC title in program history, and their fourth in the past five seasons. After scoring two goals during the tournament, Lindsay Wright was named Tournament MVP for her outstanding play during the postseason. She joins several teammates on the All-Tournament team, including Bennett, junior forward Liv Raucci, and graduate defender Julia Dell Aquila.
The victory at the SUNYAC Championship will now lead to a trip to the NCAA Division III Tournament. This marks the fifth-consecutive NCAA appearance for the Knights, and their tenth in the history of the program. Holding a 4-8-4 record in the tournament, Geneseo is ready to add to the wins column this year. On Saturday, Nov. 12, the Knights will square off against Trinity on the road. Geneseo holds the superior regular season record, but will have their work cut out for them against a solid team like Trinity. The winner will go on to face the victor of Johns Hopkins and Lesley.
Regardless of how the NCAA Tournament ends, the Knights put together a tremendous 11-4-3 season and successfully defended their SUNYAC title. Immortalized in history, the Knights have added yet another accomplishment to their monumental program record books.