Men’s soccer avenges Geneseo against RIT after women’s prior loss
The Geneseo Men’s Soccer team came back for blood hosting the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) on Saturday, Sept. 10, defeating the Tigers 2-1. The men’s team win comes after a tough loss to RIT by the women’s soccer team on Sept. 7.
Senior forward Tyler Lewandowski led the charge by scoring his first two goals of the season, one in each half. The first goal reached the back of the net in the 26th minute with an assist from senior midfielder Justin Arilotta, his second of the year. Lewandowski’s second goal came with 26 minutes left to play, this time unassisted after a failed clearance by RIT.
This win could not have happened without tremendous defense and goalkeeping. Senior goalkeeper Will Price held down the fort with 3 saves, allowing only one goal. The singular RIT goal came via penalty kick in the 85th minute after a foul in the box by Arilotta. The lead was cut to half, but RIT was ultimately defeated by the Knights. The triumphant victory pushed the Knights to a 3-1 record for the season, with many more victories surely soon to come.
The men’s team win came just three days after the Geneseo women’s soccer team was bested by RIT, with a final score of 2-0. Senior forward Lindsay Wright and sophomore midfielder Lindsey Matthews led the first half of the game, both adding a shot to their stat lines. The two shots in the opening half were far outdone by RIT’s seven, though none of them reached the goal. While losing the shot battle in the first half, Geneseo recorded three corner kicks versus none from the Tigers.
Geneseo senior goalkeeper Angel Bennett recorded multiple saves in both the first and second half, giving her a total of 16 for the season and setting her up to once again maintain her impressive save count, accumulating to a whopping 57 saves last season. Despite a great effort by the Knights, the RIT Tigers were victorious with two goals less than a minute apart in the second half. Unfortunately, RIT is not on the schedule again this season, meaning the women will have to wait until next year to defeat them.
The men’s soccer team hopes to improve their record from last season, in which they finished 10-7-2. In 2021, games on the road were a struggle, which makes this season’s schedule quite daunting, as most games will be on a different team’s field. Meanwhile, the women’s team put on a thrilling performance last year with an outstanding record of 16-3-1 and going undefeated in SUNYAC (conference) games with only one tie. Luckily for the women’s team, most of their games will be right at Geneseo’s College Stadium, bringing them the coveted home-field advantage and propelling them to yet another impressive season. Both teams look forward to a successful season and a full crowd of Knights fans cheering them on