OSWEGO — The Lakers took the nationally ranked Oneonta to double OT when Witman Hernandez, leading scorer in SUNYAC, put the Red Dragons on top. In the 2-1 loss, Laker Jack Van Pelt got the lone goal off a free kick from sophomore Caleb Munski. Throughout play, Oswego defense blocked multiple Oneonta shots along with goalie Brian Terra’s five saves. The Lakers look to split the weekend with a game against New Paltz today. The team will honor their graduating class as this will be the regular season game at Laker Stadium.
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Oswego State women’s hockey shuts out SUNY Canton in consecutive games
OSWEGO, N.Y. — The Oswego State women’s hockey team defeated SUNY Canton in back-to-back games last weekend, winning 5-0 on Friday and 4-0 on Saturday. With these pair of victories, the Lakers improve to 11-7-1 on the season and 8-4-1 in NEWHL play.
Saturday’s game was on the road where the Lakers took command early on. After putting up seven shots-on-goal to start the game, freshman Lizzie Burke got Oswego on the board at the 8:29 mark of the opening stanza. Just six minutes later, the Canton received a powerplay opportunity following a Laker tripping penalty. However, Oswego scored a short-handed goal with 28 seconds left in the first period. Captain Philomena Teggart and junior Ariella Haas assisted Simone Bednarik on the score. Early on into the second period, Morgan Shines put the Lakers up 3-0 off an assist by Kyleigh Grugin and Avery Webster. Oswego continued their dominant offensive performance as they found the net once again just 46 seconds later, this time being a goal from Taylor Hudon. After some back-and-forth runs by each team in the final period, the Lakers scored their fifth and final goal of the night courtesy of Ashlyn McGrath. Oswego out-shot Canton 33-14 in Saturday’s contest with sophomore goalkeeper Joanna Hiebert going perfect on the night, saving all 14 Kangaroo shots.
The Lakers and Kangaroos met once again just one day later, this time being in the Deborah F. Stanley arena. Much like their previous matchup, Oswego started Sunday’s game off hot from the opening puck-drop. Junior Emily Gustafson netted her first goal of the season just 5:50 into the first period to put the Lakers up by one. Towards the end of the first frame, freshman Mack Hull made it a 2-0 game when she found the back of the net. Both teams went scoreless throughout much of the second period until Sophia Kyrkostas netted a powerplay goal with three minutes remaining. Midway through the final stanza, Lizzie Burke added an insurance goal to give the Lakers a 4-0 lead. Oswego improved in the shots column from the first matchup, this time outshooting the ‘Roos 45-18. Joanna Hiebert was outstanding in goal once again, racking up 18 saves and recording her fourth shutout of the season.
After an impressive weekend which saw junior Morgan Shines win the Oswego State athlete of the week honor, the women’s hockey team is now tied for 2nd place in the NEWHL with SUNY Cortland. Oswego will look to carry this momentum into Tuesday’s match against Buffalo State before competing in a rubber-match verses SUNY Canton on Friday. Puck-drop is set for 7:00 p.m. at Buffalo State on Tuesday.
Photo provided by Selby Peplowski, WTOP 10 Photography Department
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Oswego State Softball Team Splits in Doubleheader Versus New Paltz
OSWEGO, N.Y — The Oswego State Softball team went 1-1 against the New Paltz Hawks on Tuesday, dropping the first game 9-3 before winning the second 6-2. With the win in the second game, the Lakers cut their win streak and gain momentum heading into the next conference doubleheader.
The first game started slow as neither team scored until infielder, Julia Mastrup, scored in the 5th inning and put the Hawks up 1-0. New Paltz then followed that with a 6-run 6th inning and put the games out of reach for Oswego. Three players scored for Oswego, including Madelana Wrubel, Leah Czerwinski, and Jessica DuPoint. The Lakers, desperate for a win, did not disappoint in the second game however.
Oswego kicked off the rematch with a 2nd inning home run by senior utility player, Taylor DuBois. The game was stagnant for the next three innings until Kelly Marmor tied the game with a home run in the 6th inning. Though, that would be as close as the game got. The Lakers exploded in their 6th inning at-bat, scoring 5 runs and capitalizing on poor pitching. New Paltz’s Katie Quagli would score off a Rhionna Bian RBI in the final inning, but it would be too little, to late. Five Lakers scored runs with Taylor DuBois totaling 2 runs off of 2 hits and 3 RBIs. Oswego also got great play out of their pitching core of Madison Hoeflich and Fiona Higgins who had 14 combined strikeouts on the day.
With the end of the season quickly approaching, Oswego will have to have play nearly perfect in their final few games in order to have a chance at the postseason. The Lakers will have the opportunity to improve in conference play as they take on the Brockport Golden Eagles in a doubleheader on May 1st. Game 1 is set to start at 12:00 p.m. while game 2 has a 2:00 p.m. start time in Brockport.
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Sean Eccles named interim head coach of Oswego Men’s lacrosse team
OSWEGO, N.Y. — Following Coach Drew Bezek’s recent departure from the Oswego men’s lacrosse program, the Department of Athletics announced that Sean Eccles has been elevated to Interim Head Men’s Lacrosse Coach on Tuesday.
With this hiring, Eccles becomes the sixth acting head coach in the program’s history. After a stint as offensive coordinator at Georgian Court University (New Jersey), an NCAA Division II school, Eccles now travels to Oswego, not too far from his hometown of Syracuse.
The newly elevated coach will have the honor of coaching his younger brother, Ryan Eccles, who played his first season with the Lakers in the 2021. In six games, Ryan totaled two goals and one assist as a freshman midfielder. With their connection, we could see an increased offensive role for Ryan in the 2022 season.
Before coaching, Eccles was a decorated athlete with multiple collegiate and professional lacrosse honors. Eccles was a two-year captain at UAlbany, earning two second team all-conference honors in his tenure there. During his time with the Great Danes, Eccles totaled 83 goals and 28 assists while leading the team to the NCAA Division I National Championship Final Four in 2018. Eccles is also a former Major League Lacrosse (MLL) professional, being drafted 11th overall by the Denver Outlaws in 2019 MLL draft. Following his time with the team, Eccles served as the offensive coordinator for the Albany Academy Preparatory School team in spring 2020.
The Oswego men’s lacrosse team is coming off their worst season in program history as they were winless (0-7) for the first time. Now with an influx of recruits and the hiring of Coach Eccles, the Lakers will look to bounce back from their previous season and aim for their first SUNYAC Championship appearance since 2019.
Photo provided by Oswego State Athletics Department
