The independent student newspaper at Goucher College

Athlete to Watch: Oscar Hernandez-Genovez

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On March 22, the Goucher men’s lacrosse team won 25-3 against Rosemount, and a big part of that win was due to the efforts of midfielder Oscar Hernandez-Genovez ‘23. 

In the game, Hernandez-Genovez also picked up 14 ground balls, and scored his first collegiate goal. More impressively, he won 26 out of 31 faceoffs that game, and had all of Goucher’s faceoff wins. This set a new program record for single-game faceoff wins; the previous record, 24 in a single game, was set by Jerod Richardson in 2004 against Catholic.

Hernandez-Genovez said setting the record was “a dream come true” and that he “still can’t believe it.” He added that during the game, he did not realize he was close to setting a new record. 

“I just knew that I had to keep playing how I was and not overcomplicate anything or get too fancy,” he said, “I just needed to win the ball for my team and they will continue to dominate.” 

He spoke of his dedication to the sport, and his understanding of his role to play on the team, before joking, “I didn’t know that I broke the record until I got back to my dorm after the game and a teammate sent me the Instagram post. I was just on cloud nine because I scored my first collegiate goal and was able to ring the bell. Then come to find out I broke an 18-year-old record.”

This may be Hernandez-Genovez’s last season at Goucher, but his career is not over yet. His plan for the rest of the year? “[I want] to get vengeance on the conference teams I didn’t have success against last year,” he said, “I plan to keep balling out and be the player my team needs me to be.” 

He explained that “after last year’s rough season, the returning players wanted to make sure something like that never happened again. So we all worked hard to capture moments like [this one].” 

Hernandez-Genovez expanded on this point by discussing the work that the team has put in leading up to this season. New standards that were set by veteran leaders, including a goal to make the conference final four. 

“The team’s recent success is a testament to the hard work and resiliency we have as a group. Both sides of the ball have stepped up with seniors leading the way and setting the standard,” he said. He added that he has a lot of pride in “the strides we have made from the beginning of the season to now. It shows that we have a great desire to change the culture and compete against the best without having the doubt of being successful.” 

The new expectations may be high, but Hernandez-Genovez isn’t worried. “I have full confidence in my team that we will continue to perform well against these conference teams… We are getting better every day and this isn’t the final stage Goucher Lacrosse has to show.”

The men’s lacrosse team has a string of conference games in the coming weeks. The Gophers play next on April 12 at Catholic, before traveling to Scranton on April 15. Their next home game will be against Susquehanna on Saturday, April 22. The game is scheduled to start at 1PM.

Feature image of Hernandez-Genovez courtesy of Goucher Athletics.

Reese (she/her) is the Sports Section Editor at the Quindecim and a sophomore History major. She is from Dallas, Texas and a graduate of Grapevine High School. Reese is a distance runner on the varsity track and cross country team. In her free time, she enjoys reading, running and rock & roll.

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