OSWEGO, NY — Women’s Hockey played their final home game of the regular season this past Saturday as the Lakers took home the 3-2 victory of Buffalo State. The win came off of goals in all three periods as Morgan Shines tied the game at 1-1 towards the end of the first period. Eryn Stewart would secure a goal in the second period to put the Lakers ahead. Emily Gustafson would net one in the third to give Oswego the two goal lead before the Bengals got on the board with a little over eight minutes remaining. Rachael Farmer would make 18 saves in the victory to give the Lakers their 14th win of the season. Oswego travels to Canton for their final game of the season where if the Lakers are victorious, the team will secure second place in the standings, and host Morrisville in the semifinals in the NEWHL playoffs. Puck drop is in Canton at 4 p.m. on Saturday.
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Men’s Hockey Loses to Elmira College
OSWEGO, NY — Men’s Hockey continued non-conference play Saturday night against Elmira College but fell short after the Lakers mounted another third period comeback. The 4-3 final featured similar stories to Friday night’s game against nationally ranked Utica College. The Soaring Eagles would open the scoring just 19 seconds into the game before sophomore Josh LeBlanc would tally his first goal of the season. Senior Cedric Hansen started in net for Oswego but gave up two more goals early on before David Richer was brought into the game just 30 seconds into the second period. Freshman Alex DiCarlo would lead the third period charge with two goals in only his ninth collegiate game, with that first goal being his first ever collegiate goal. The freshman, who is not a regular in the Oswego line up, has six points (2 goals & 4 assists) so far through his first season.
The Lakers still set a top the SUNYAC conference, however the Lakers are .500 for the first time all season. The team travels to Nazareth for another non-conference matchup where the Lakers look to turn their season around. The Lakers have had success against the Golden Flyers, as the teams faced off for an exhibition game in Oswego this past October. The 4-3 final featured four different scorers for the Lakers along with two different goaltenders in net for the team. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. from the Bill Gray’s Iceplex.
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Team Spotlight: Oswego State Field Hockey
OSWEGO, NY — As the unusual fall semester continues into the month of October, the Oswego State Field Hockey team would be in the heat of a competitive battle in the SUNYAC conference right about now. The 4-12-0 Lakers finished the 2019 season sixth in the conference standings, missing the playoff bracket. The group lost one senior at the end of the 2019 campaign, midfielder Riley Mallett. Head Coach Heather Moore touched on the impact the Suffern native made to the team.
“[Riley was] a leader by example, always the hardest worker on the field.” Moore said.
With much of the team returning for their 2021 season, Moore feels that the team will be able to pick up the leadership around the field. Moore expects the defensive core, backed by sophomore netminder Erica Scheblein to develop heading into this unusual season.
“Sometimes we ended up being a little too individualistic and not playing as much as a unit.” Moore continued, “with a higher level of communication and some confidence, they will become a stronger unit.”
The Lakers had a goal against average of 3.31 in conference play last season, which ranked them 6th among their competitors. On the other end of the turf, the team average 1.7 goals per game, a stat led by freshman Annie O’Neill. With the attacking front returning as well, Moore focused on bringing the team back to the fundamentals after the end of last season.
“Focusing on overall player development and improvement. Rebuilding our skills and our game sense, like our Field Hockey IQ.” Moore added, “retooling some things and getting our returners on the same page and having them work towards the same goals.”
The team was heading in that direction before the suspension of Athletics due to the concern of COVID-19 on the SUNY Oswego campus. Before this occurrence, the team was able to participate in three team practices in two individual pods. Although the group was happy to be back on the field together, Moore brought up the difficulty with the system.
“The hardest part was going back and forth from each pod and being able to give the right feedback at the right time,” Moore stated.
With no team activities now till the beginning of their season, the group will have to wait to take make their mark in the 2021 season. The Lakers will welcome five first year students onto their roster when the time comes. The group contains five individuals that play a range of positions.
“I have only seen them practice three times.” Moore further states, “but from what I can tell, they are going to be little sparks all across the field.”
These additions to the group will hopefully set the Lakers over the top once the calendar flips to 2021. The setback is something Moore is seeing the positives in, as the coach notices the break in the common rush of a season.
“It’s also nice to have a break and reflect about what worked, what did not work, and what do I see moving forward.” Moore said, “how I see them impacting in the future.”
As Moore and the rest of the coaching staff led their team into the rest of this semester, the coach’s message was simple and clear.
“It’s been a good lesson to all of us to remain flexible and adoptable. Using the information as it comes and managing your reactions.” Moore finished with, “I know things are crazy and keep changing, and it’s okay.”
Photo Provided by Oswego State Athletics
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Oswego women’s basketball team suffers tough loss against Plattsburgh
PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. — The Oswego State women’s basketball team fell in their SUNYAC matchup against Plattsburgh State. The final score was 49-73 in favor of the Cardinals. Plattsburgh State was hot the whole game and proved to be too much to handle for the Lakers. At the half the Lakers were down by fourteen and despite an effort to bounce back, they could not find a rhythm to get the job done. The leading scorers for the women this game were senior Raiven Encarnacion with twelve points, and senior Danielle Caivana with eleven. Despite these two individual performances, Plattsburgh was able to hold the Lakers to 13.5% shooting on the night. The Lakers are now 3-9 on the season and 0-6 in the SUNYAC as they look to gain some momentum in their next matchup against Geneseo. Tip of is at 5:30 p.m. on January 19th on WTOP10!
Image Provided by Oswego State Athletics
