OSWEGO, NY — After many athletic conferences across the United States begin to cancel or postpone the Fall 2020 season due to COVID-19, the SUNYAC Conference announced on Monday, July 20th, the cancellation of the fall season for member institutions. This decision was made by the SUNYAC Presidents in conjunction with the SUNYAC Board of Directors. This comes after the Empire 8, a local New York Division III conference, announced the postponement of the Fall 2020 season on July 16th. The SUNYAC has decided to cancel all competition till January 2021, which includes winter sports. The report, found on the conference website, states that teams can continue small team workouts when school is back in session. There are still questions regarding the winter sports season that has been pushed off, but time will tell what changes will be made moving forward.
Of course, this will affect Oswego State Athletics for the time being, as most of the teams are a part of that conference. WTOP 10 will continue to have updates on the situation as students return to college around the end of August.
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Men’s Lacrosse Secures Back-to-Back Road Victories This Week
UTICA, NY – The men were on the road this week, traveling to Utica and Brockport for their matchups. Oswego was able to get back in the win column following their loss against Hartwick last week. The Lakers first matchup was against the Pioneers in Utica on Wednesday, March 22nd.
The matchup with the Pioneers proved to be a chess match between the two teams, with no goal coming in until the end of the first quarter. Utica scored the first goal with three and a half minutes remaining in the quarter. Corey O’Connor tied the match at one with an assist from Jack Delany with a minute left in the first. The Lakers held the Pioneers scoreless in the second and third quarter, while building a lead that would be too much for the Pioneers to overcome. Oswego netted four goals in the two quarters, giving them a 5-1 lead over Utica.
The Pioneers didn’t go down without a fight, as they netted two fourth quarter goals. However, the Lakers put the Pioneers in their place with three fourth quarter goals of their own, winning the matchup by a score of 8-3. Aiden Kenyon held it down for the Lakers in the net, recording ten saves on the afternoon to help the Lakers secure the victory. Delany led the Lakers with three points, one goal and two assists. O’Connor, Max Brodman, and Trey Jones tied for the team lead in goals, each scoring twice.
On Saturday, the men headed out west to take on the Golden Eagles in a much closer matchup. Oswego got up early in the match, but surrendered two goals in the final two minutes of the first quarter and trailed by one going into the second quarter. Max Brodman gave the Lakers life in the second quarter, scoring two of Oswego’s three goals of the quarter, and recording a hat trick on the afternoon before halftime. The match would be tied at five going into the second half of play.
The Lakers outscored Brockport by just one goal in the second half, scoring four goals in the half. Aiden Kenyon held Brockport to three second half goals, and recorded five saves in the contest. Gavin Elston recorded a hat trick in the second half which gave Oswego the upper hand in their win. Elston tied Corey O’Connor for total points on the afternoon with four, while also tying Brodman for total goals with three each.
The men are riding a two game win streak heading into their next matchup, which will be their second conference matchup of the season. The men will be hosting Plattsburgh on Saturday, April 1st at 1pm. The Cardinals are coming in on a six game losing streak, with the Lakers looking to make it seven.
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Oswego Women’s Lacrosse Gets Set For Fredonia Blue Devils
OSWEGO, N.Y. — The Oswego State Women’s Lacrosse team is set to play their second game of the 2021 season on Saturday vs. Fredonia. After multiple games were rescheduled, this will be the Laker’s first action since their dominant season-opening victory over Morrisville State on March 20th. This will also be the Laker’s first SUNYAC matchup this season. As for Fredonia, they are coming off a 21-4 SUNYAC loss to SUNY Brockport and have a season record of 0-2.
Fredonia has given up 37 total goals in their first two games of the season which bodes well for the Lakers leading scorer, Sela Wiley, as she looks to top her outstanding performance in Oswego’s season opener vs Morrisville. The sophomore midfielder totaled 7 goals on only 10 shots, while also racking up 5 ground balls and 1 assist. Junior attack, Logan Castiglione, will also look to top her last performance as she totaled 5 goals, 2 assists, and 0 turnovers. Although Fredonia hasn’t played well as of late, the Lakers still have to play aggressively, especially against senior attack, Allison Coon. Coon has scored 20+ goals every year prior to last year’s shortened season and has 2 goals so far in 2021. The Oswego Women’s Lacrosse team is currently on a four-game win streak vs Fredonia, with their last matchup being a 23-3 Laker victory in 2019. Oswego will look to extend their win streak to five on Saturday at 1:00 PM. WTOP 10 will be live at Laker Turf Stadium for the matchup.
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Simzer shines as Lakers take down Keystone
LA PLUME, P.A. — The Lakers stay undefeated as they routed Keystone College 5-1. 13 seconds into the contest Senior Kacie Simzer scored the first goal of the game for the Lakers with Kaitlyn Ahle assisting. The Lakers were tested early as they faced a situation that they have not been in all year which was a team scoring a goal, effectively ending their four game streak of not allowing a single goal. It took the Lakers only one minute and 11 seconds to score another goal as Simzer scored her second of the game. The rest of the second quarter was a defensive battle where both Oswego and Keystone combined for three penalty corner kicks and four goals. Goalie Erica Scheblein was given her first test of the year and she was ready for the challenge. After giving up a goal early in the game, Scheblein had blocked five shots from the 36:08 to the 43:21 mark. She finished the game with nine total saves, which is almost half of her season’s total. Oswego adjusted in every quarter of the game as within one minute and 20 seconds of the second half beginning Kailtyn Mastracco scored for the Lakers off of a penalty shot.
After Keystone changed goalies during the fourth quarter, Simzer tested if their new goalie was up to the task. Simzer tied the all-time record for goals in a game for the Lakers as she finished the day with four goals. Oswego finished the day with 21 shots on goal. Throughout the game, the Lakers took advantage of Keystone penalties as they had ten penalty corner kicks.
This marks the first time the Lakers have started 5-0 since the 2016-2017 season. The Lakers travel north to take on the St. Lawrence Saints on Saturday, September 17th at 1:00 PM at North Country Field.
IMAGE PROVIDED BY OSWEGO ATHLETICS.
