Women's lacrosse prevails in must-win to earn playoff spot
Tom Wilder
Issue date: 4/30/09 Section: Sports
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Prior to Fredonia, the Lady Knights warmed up with a 14-7 walkthrough against St. Lawrence on Friday and a 21-7 dismantling of Morrisville on Saturday. Geneseo's attack was led by senior Maggie Morris, who scored 11 goals in the two games and added three against Fredonia, setting the program's single-season goals record.
Thus far, Morris has tallied 60 goals. Geneseo coach Carly Ritchlin said of the record, "… [Morris] works really hard, so she definitely deserves it."
The enormity of Tuesday's game didn't appear to affect the Lady Knights, who raced out to a five-goal lead within the first 13:09, led by three goals from junior Abby Hungerford. By halftime, Geneseo led 9-4, allowing them to coast to the victory.
"I think we played one of the best games we've played all season," said Ritchlin. "… We were just on and you could tell Fredonia was getting frustrated."
Despite the victory, the Lady Knights have a tough draw in Saturday's SUNYAC semifinal, Buffalo State, whose five unanswered goals gave them an 11-10 win in their last matchup against Geneseo. The No. 18 Bengals are undefeated in SUNYAC play and 15-1 overall.
Ritchlin said the team is confident leading up to the rematch. "I think the team is very excited to see [Buffalo] State again for the simple fact that we were dominating the regular season game until the last 15 minutes of the game," she said. "It's just going to be the team that steps out and decides they want to win the game."
Ritchlin herself remains supremely confident in the team's potential to pull off the upset. "… I know we have the talent, I know we have the heart and dedication and I know we're very prepared. Having played [Buffalo] State only two weeks ago is huge … they know what to expect."
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