One game, one win for Geneseo’s men’s lacrosse

The Geneseo men’s lacrosse team traveled to Nazareth College to face the Golden Flyers on Saturday, Feb. 25, and brought home a win in their season opener. Their game was a close one as the Knights fought tooth and nail to ground out the victory with a final score of 13-11. 

Although the contest did not start in their favor, Geneseo was able to keep fighting despite an early 2-0 deficit. Senior midfielder William McCumiskey made his way to the net and scored the first goal of the team’s season off an assist from sophomore attacker Brady Sullivan. 

Shortly after, Sullivan tied up the score with a successful and unassisted shot on goal. As the Knights made their way through the first quarter, they scored twice more with shots made by sophomores Casey Fortunato and Jimmy Atkinson. Geneseo, however, could do little on the defensive end, as they gave up another three goals to end the quarter down 5-4. 

The offenses slowed down in the second quarter, with the Knights scoring twice and the Flyers only putting one point on the scoreboard. Freshman attacker Ryan Trebing scored off an assist from senior attacker Christian Marcello, Jr. in order to tie the game with just under nine minutes left in the second. After Nazareth took back the lead at 6-5, Marcello scored yet again with an assist from sophomore midfielder Cole Donley to tie the game just before halftime. 

Coming out of the break, Geneseo quickly took the lead again with yet another goal from McCumiskey. Each team tacked on another two points in the third, as Marcello found the net another two times for the Knights, being assisted once by sophomore Jake Starkley. Geneseo was able to hold a 9-8 lead into the final quarter. 

With two quick scores, Nazareth took the lead for a final time but it was short-lived as the Knights’ momentum seemed to flow into the fourth quarter. Goals were scored by McCumiskey, Atkinson, Marcello, and freshman midfielder Owen Ellick in the period. The team racked up late points to end their first game of the season with a 13-11 victory.

After the shaky start to the game, sophomore goalkeeper Wes Ralph recovered and held his own on the field totaling 13 saves on the day. Geneseo came up clutch with more faceoff wins (13-12) in the victory, finishing strong on both sides of the ball. 

If this first game is any indication of how the season will go, it seems as though this year’s Knights could be destined for big things. They will look to improve on their 9-8 record from last year, and a season opener win is a step in the right direction. 

The team will compete in two games next week, the first of which will be held on Wednesday, Mar. 1 at 4 p.m. as they head to Morrisville State College to take on the Mustangs. The team will then face the Ithaca College Bombers on Saturday, Mar. 4 before returning to Geneseo for their first home game of the season.