Countdown to Kissimmee: SUNY Geneseo

Credit: Megan DeLancey

SUNY Geneseo is one of the older teams in New York, appearing at World Cup IV with a history going even further back than that. They are one of the top teams in the Snow Belt Conference, battling with RIT and the University of Rochester for local dominance. Geneseo has had a very consistent year; they haven’t lost to any teams who they should be beating, but they also haven’t scored too many big wins.

Best Wins v. University of Ottawa x2 (90*-10, 50*-20) Rochester Institute of Technology 60*- 40
Worst Losses None

Key Players: Joseph Monoenko is one of Geneseo’s tank-like chasers, and fully understands how to use his size to advance the ball as well as to lock down an opposing chaser on offense. He is almost always a scoring threat, and his ability to impose himself physically often allows him to draw extra defenders and open up scoring opportunities for his teammates.
Molly Bowen and Jackie Bowen, known as the twins, are SUNY Geneseo’s two primary beaters. They have excellent communication and work very, very well as a unit, supporting and communicating with each other.

Players to watch: Joey O’Connor had big shoes to fill stepping up as Geneseo’s new seeker this fall with veteran Christian Perfas out for a semester. But he has done admirably, making a number of high profile pulls, such as his catch against Macaulay in the Northeast Regional championship. Joey’s ability and willingness to lay out for a catch, as well as his ability to make a catch from the ground, have held Geneseo in good stead this year.

And, speaking of seekers, Christian Perfas is now back and in good seeking form, using explosive speed and quick hands to make his pulls. Perfas has also debuted on the chasing line with the greater seeking depth allowing him a bit more flexibility. While Perfas doesn’t have experience chasing, he has a great understanding of the game, as well as the speed and agility necessary to beat a defender, so I wouldn’t be surprised to see him doing some damage chasing in the future.

Strategy: Defensively, Geneseo plays a very physical game with their chasers. While running a lineup of three male chasers, a male keeper, and two female beaters, their defensive physicality enables their beaters to remain very close to their hoops and focus on maintaining control while beating chasers who get too close. They tend to have a point chaser challenge the opposing ball carrier and slow them down while their other chasers pick up the passing options. Geneseo is a team which can genuinely shut down opposing offenses without needing to use or risk their bludgers.
Offensively, Geneseo will have one of their keepers, or occasionally a chaser, advance the ball and attempt to beat an opposing point chaser. At that point, if they are unchallenged by a beater, they will drive through to score. If they are challenged, they’ll look for a passing option.

Strengths: Physicality: Geneseo is very able and willing to make hard hits, making it exceptionally difficult for opposing chasers to get in close to their hoops with the ball. But the compactness of their setup sometimes allows chasers with good long shots to get within a dangerous distance of their hoops at times.
Weaknesses: Geneseo struggles when playing against bludger control, both because it forces their beaters out of their comfortable defensive play style, and because their passing, while decent, isn’t quite as crisp as they would like, and can often be shut down by opposing beaters.
Predictions: Geneseo is in a relatively rough pool with Texas State, Pitt, and Michigan State. They’ll be in a tough spot to advance. But, given their seeking, they have a realistic chance to pull an upset if they can stay within snitch range. That said, it’s most likely that SUNY Geneseo doesn’t advance out of pool play.

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