Geneseo Field Hockey loses tough game to Ithaca
Photo Courtesy of Trenten Krakowiak
This past Saturday, the Geneseo field hockey team lost a hard-fought game against Ithaca College. The Knights were entering this game following a home overtime loss on Sept. 9 to William Smith College. The 2-1 defeat was Geneseo’s first of the season. The Ithaca Bombers—the 25th-ranked team in the country—were on the road following a 4-3 overtime loss of their own at SUNY Cortland; this was Ithaca’s first loss of the season as well. The two teams have been evenly matched throughout their history, with a total matchup record of 5-6 in favor of the Bombers, as of Sept. 12.
For those who may not be familiar with the sport, field hockey is a combination of soccer and ice hockey. Dating back to the ancient civilizations of Greece and Egypt, some version of field hockey has been played for millennia. Recognized as an Olympic sport, field hockey is naturally played with a hockey stick, and players use the flat side of the stick to score within the striking circle (an area around the net with a 14.63 meter diameter). There are 11 players (one goalkeeper, ten fielders) allowed on a field, rather than the six seen in an ice hockey game. Penalty rules are similar to those of soccer, and play time consists of four 15-minute periods.
The action in the first period of the Saturday game was fast-paced, with Geneseo getting to the net often on several scoring attempts. This led to the first goal of the game, scored by senior Kyra Giannelli off an assist from sophomore Halle Senfield; this goal was Giannelli’s first of the season. Ithaca responded quickly with a tying goal of their own from sophomore Jaclyn Gilroy, assisted by senior Caroline Folan. The Knights stayed aggressive in the first with eight shots, the most by any team over the course of the game.
Ithaca scored their second goal late in the second period off of two penalty corners. A penalty corner is a configuration in which the defending team is lined up within the net, while the attacking team attempts to score after the ball is brought on field from out of bounds. It was following these corners that Ithaca senior Breeah Shaw, assisted by fellow senior Payton Yahner, scored the game-winning goal. Ithaca was aggressive throughout the second quarter, with five shots. While both teams remained competitive, particularly on offense with 16 shots, the second half was scoreless, and Geneseo fell to 3-2 on the season.
Despite the loss, the team played well throughout. The defense played exceptionally well, preventing Ithaca from any kind of substantial lead. While Ithaca had 11 shots in the second half, none were successfully scored. Geneseo stayed in the game to the end, with five shots in the second half, four of which were in the fourth quarter. Junior Ava Harman led the team in shots with three, and five players had a shot on goal. Goalkeeping was strong throughout as well, with senior Bridget Schafer having eight saves off 10 shots on goal, a career high.
Geneseo now stands fourth in the Empire 8 Conference standings. In terms of stats, goalkeeper Schafer now ranks second for best goals-against average in the conference at 1.88, and is ranked sixth for least number of goals allowed in the conference with 10. Junior Aubree Wenner and senior Ella Greico both had two shots on the day and are within the top 10 of the conference for shots; Greico is second with 21, and Wenner is ninth with 15. Greico is also third in the conference for shots on goal with 14. Wenner, Greico, and Harman are top 10 in goals as well (sixth, seventh,and eighth respectively, all with three), and Harman, Giannelli, and Senfield are top 10 in assists (fourth, ninth and tenth respectively— Harman has three, Giannelli and Senfield have two).
The Geneseo Knights field hockey team continues their home series at 1 p.m. on Sept. 19, against Utica University. The upcoming game against the 0-4 Utica team will be Geneseo’s first game within the Empire 8 conference.