Oswego — The Oswego State Volleyball team came back from a 2-1 deficit to knock off the three-time defending champions Brockport in the opening round of the 2018 SUNYAC Championship Tournament. It’s the first time the Lakers have advanced to the semifinal round since the 2015 season when they defeated Fredonia. Both setters Allison Berger and Julia Flohr each recorded double-doubles and Melissa Lussier led the team in kills with 14 in the contest. The Lakers next match is this Friday in Geneseo for a meeting with New Paltz. First serve is at 4 p.m.
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Oswego State Women’s Lacrosse Team Looks to End Losing Streak
OSWEGO, N.Y. — The Oswego Women’s Lacrosse team will look to avenge their 18-4 loss to Clarkson University as they battle SUNY Brockport on Saturday, April 17th. The race for the SUNYAC Championships is currently a three way battle in the west division with Brockport, Geneseo, and Oswego all being contenders for the two spots available for the postseason. Oswego has not seen the 5-1 Brockport squad yet this season, and the Lakers dropped their first game to Geneseo earlier this week. This conference matchup is important for Britt Howard and the rest of the Lakers if the group wants to remain in the hunt and make it into another post season, a streak that started back in the 2016 season. Oswego enters this matchup on two-game slide while the Golden Eagles ride a 6-game win streak which includes a 23-2 victory vs Buffalo State on April 16th.
The Lakers suffered their worst offensive performance of the season against Clarkson. They shot the ball just 16 times versus the Golden Knights, their lowest output of 2021. Although Oswego wasn’t able to score much, sophomore midfielder, Sela Wiley, continued her outstanding season, scoring 3-out-of 4 Lakers goals in the loss. Junior goalkeeper, Delaney Kendrick, will need to have a great defensive performance to suppress Brockport’s high-powered offense on Saturday. The Golden Eagles are averaging 16 points a game in 2021 and have scored 58 goals in their past three games. Four players have totaled at least 25 points for Brockport so far this season, including Cassidy Burnash (20 goals, 5 assists), Allison Jennings (18 goals, 9 assists), Natalie Strough (13 goals, 25 assists), and leading scorer Heather Conklin (33 goals, 7 assists). With only five games remaining in Oswego’s schedule, Saturday’s contest will have a pivotal impact not only on the Lakers postseason chances, but the entire SUNYAC west division standings. Face off is set for 1:00 PM at Laker Turf Stadium and WTOP 10 will have coverage of all the action.
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Team Spotlight: Oswego State Men’s Soccer
OSWEGO, NY — The Oswego State Men’s Soccer team, a squad surrounded by a lengthy but rather disappointing history in terms of success, has recently been on the upswing the past couple of years. This due to the arrival of Head Coach Dan Kane, who took over the Lakers heading into the 2017 season. A program that has transferred from being a doormat for the SUNYAC to a championship hopeful which showed just a year ago. The 9-7-2 team lost to SUNY Cortland in penalty kicks, a once nationally ranked team, in the opening round of the SUNYAC tournament. The squad’s first appearance in the bracket since 2014 was another step in the right direction for the Lakers.
The obvious common problem teams face across the nation comes down to retention of progress gained over the course of more than one season. For Kane’s Lakers, the group realized quickly what was expected of them before heading home last semester.
“The team realized that we got to make some advances individually and collectively,” Kane stated, “if we are going to sustain our kind of progression from the last few years.”
Of course, the return to Oswego has been much different for a team that usually starts games before the start of September. Kane spoke on the lack of team practices has made team cohesion difficult, something the head coach wished the group had similar to previous years. However, Kane found a positive in the situation as the coach touched on how this difference gave him the ability to work on a different subject, the incoming Class of 2024.
“We are way further along in terms of getting to know them as people because we have been having so many calls with them.” Kane said, “I know our freshman a lot better than I normally would which I am really thankful for.”
The push to the potential spring season gives the new members of the squad an opportunity to gain maturity before their first steps onto the Laker Turf. Kane explained the “grind of college and of the season catches up” and often saw regression through the course of a season from his first-year athletes because of this. Coach continued about his envy towards spring sports due to this trend, that may now be able to be tapped into due to this uncommon season.
Another plus for these Lakers is the return of the backline and starting goaltender Brian Terra. The defensive core that held conference opponents to an average of less than a goal last season will continue to be the backbone for the Lakers success. A defensive strategy that Kane plans to build on to improve the game at the other end of the pitch.
“It is going to look different.” Kane expressed, “[We] are going to play a bit differently but the more you can rely on your defense to win individual battles, the more freedom it gives our attacking players to take some chances and be creative and get more numbers forward.”
For now, the Lakers will have to remain on the sidelines before kicking off their season after the end of the calendar year. A group that got a taste of soccer together one week ago at their first team practice on the Laker Turf. The torrential downpour of rain did not take off the smiles that were found on every student athlete.
“We were in small pods.” Kane continued, “the energy and the positivity at practice was amazing. They were loving it.”
However, the Lakers will not be able to continue preparation for the 2021 season until next semester after the postponement of Athletics due to the recent spike of COVID-19. This added set pack could put the group at a disadvantage compared to other SUNY institutions across the conference, but Kane is taking a different look at the situation.
“To all the teams that are practicing, I wish them well.” Kane stated, “we hope to be back there soon in January, and we will make the most of the time we are given. We are not going to be the team that has excuses like that.”
For this team, the optimism shines from the head of the program. The Lakers seem to be in good hands heading into the most unusual season in sports history. Kane acknowledged the adversity that lies in front of the group but told his athletes to stay committed to the process.
“This is no question a time of adversity, so what kind of growth can we have in these moments and the second thing is even though we are not able to be together in a normal sense, we still have to be for each other.” Kane continued, “Those are kind of the two biggest messages, stay present and be there for each other. When the referee does blow that first whistle and lets us play, we will be ready for that moment.”
Photo Provided by Oswego State Athletics
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Progress Report: Oswego State women’s basketball
OSWEGO, N.Y. — The Oswego State women’s basketball team started the 2021 season off strong, going 3-3 in their first six games with an average margin of victory of 33 points. However, the Lakers suffered from a four-game losing skid to end the fall semester and now sit at 3-7 heading into 2022. Although Oswego is four games under .500, they boast two blowout victories over non-SUNYAC teams in SUNY-Delhi (75-39) and Wells College (73-23).
The Lakers are currently 0-4 in SUNYAC games with losses to SUNY Cortland, Buffalo State, SUNY Brockport and Fredonia. Though they sit one game back from SUNY Plattsburgh and two games back from SUNY Geneseo in the SUNYAC standings.
The Lakers are led by senior guard Danielle Caivana who leads the team in minutes per game (33.0), points per game (15.1) and 3-pointers made (25). Freshman forward Diamond Pickett is having a great start to her collegiate career, averaging close to a double-double with 8.3 points per game and 10.1 rebounds per game. Pickett also leads the team in field goal percentage, shooting 51% from the field. Sophomore forward Caitie Lilly has been the Lakers anchor on the defensive end, racking up 14 blocks thus far in the season, including back-to-back five-block performances versus SUNY Cortland and Buffalo State.
As a team, the Lakers are giving up 60 points per game, their lowest point total allowed since 2017. However, Oswego is only averaging 62.3 points per game, with that average being inflated from their 36 and 50-point victories earlier this season. Although the Lakers are on a losing streak, they’ve been competitive in all of their games thus far, with their biggest losing deficit being just 14 points.
With Oswego sitting at 3-7 entering the new year, they’ll need to be on the winning side of their close contests to have a shot at the SUNYAC playoffs. Luckily for the Lakers, there are more 15 opportunities for them to climb back into contention, with 14 of their next 15 games being against SUNYAC rivals. Oswego’s next game comes against Alfred State College on Monday, Jan. 4. Tip-off is set for 12 p.m. at the Max Ziel Gymnasium.
Photo provided by Shelby Peplowski, WTOP-10 Photography Department
