OSWEGO, NY — On Thursday, the SUNYAC announced the All-Decade team for Men’s Basketball. Three Lakers would make the team along with Oswego Lakers Head Coach Jason Leone being named the SUNYAC Men’s Basketball Coach of the Decade. Leone has been with the Lakers for nine seasons and has coached the team to four SUNYAC championships. The coach has a 181-75 (.707) overall record and a 114-48 (.704) conference record while at the helm of the team. Oswego has been to five NCAA tournaments which includes two trips to the Sweet 16. Coach Leone’s accolades include four SUNY Coach of the Year awards (2012, 2015, 2017, 2019) and three Regional Coach of the Year awards.
The Lakers went 19-8 last season and fell to the Brockport Golden Eagles in the semifinals round of the SUNYAC championship. The team posted a 7-3 home record along with going undefeated in neutral contests. Senior Joe Sullivan led the team with 14.6 points per game in front of freshman standout Jeremiah Sparks. The Men’s Basketball team will return next season after the conference postponed the winter season.
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Men’s soccer goes splits in D.C. tournament
OSWEGO N.Y. — The Oswego State men’s soccer team travelled down to Washington D.C. for a tournament over the weekend. The first game was their first challenge of the season, taking on #23 ranked Montclair State from Montclair, NJ. The Redhawks found the scoreboard first, a header from a corner kick just before the ten minute mark in the game. Three minutes later Montclair got a penalty kick, but a big save by goalkeeper Matt D’Arpino kept the game at 1-0. Three shots toward the end of the half by the Lakers wouldn’t find the back of the net and both sides headed to the half. D’Arpino recorded four saves in the first half, and Kyle Gehnrich led the team with four shots. The Lakers continued to fire shots on the Montclair goal in the second half, six in total, but none found netting, and the game ended 1-0. A total of five yellow cards were given out during the game, two for the Lakers and three for the Redhawks, as well as a whooping 24 fouls, 17 of them called on Montclair. D’Arpino finished the contest with six saves. Chris Smith led the team in shots on goal with two.
Game two was played on Sunday against Baruch College from New York City. A much better offensive outing for the Lakers. Just a minute into the contest Kyle Gehnrich found the back on the net for the Lakers first goal of the season. With 24 minutes to go in the half, a cross from Chris Smith found the head of Jason Wuytack got pass the goalie for the second goal of the game and Wuytack‘s first career goal. The Lakers third goal came at the 31:26 mark. The Lakers held the ball for three straight minutes prior to the goal, Kieran Gilroy tapping it in after a save. Oswego dominated the first half in shots 14-4. Ten minutes into the second half, Baruch pulled one back, heading in a cross. Just one minute later, the Lakers brought the deficit back to three, Kyle Gehnrich passed it into Chris Smith who won a one on one with the goalie bringing the score up to 4-1, the final score of the game. Oswego dominated the game, winning 23-7 in shots and 8-1 in corner kicks. Baruch players got the only two yellow cards on the game. Gehnrich and Smith each had two goal contributions in the game.
Oswego is now 1-1 on the season, with three games left before they open SUNYAC play. The Lakers next game comes against Hamilton college in Clinton, NY on Wednesday, September 7 at 4:30 P.M.
IMAGE COURTESY OF OSWEGO ATHLETICS
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Oswego State women’s hockey falls in non-conference rematch
GENEVA, N.Y. — The Oswego State women’s hockey team fell to William Smith College 2-1 on Tuesday, bringing their record to 8-7-1. This marks the Lakers third consecutive loss and first loss against the Herons this season, after previously defeating them in a 1-0 contest last November.
Both teams attacked the net early in the game, exchanging shot after shot. However, it wasn’t until 9:44 in the first period where senior Chyne Kennedy put the Lakers up 1-0 on a shot assisted by Ashlyn McGrath. The Lakers outshot the Herons 19-9 in the first stanza, with nine of those shots being saved by Erin Murray. Nearly 14 minutes intro the second period, an Oswego interference penalty gave William Smith a 5-on-4 advantage. The Herons were able to capitalize on the powerplay opportunity and score with 6:23 left in the period. Neither team was able to score in the remaining six minutes despite both squads having power-play chances. Heading into the third period, it didn’t take long for the Herons to break the tie as they scored just two minutes in, taking a 2-1 lead. Throughout the remaining 18 minutes of regulation, both teams had were provided with power-play opportunities but weren’t able to cash-in. The Lakers had many great looks and took an abundance of shots, but weren’t able to find the back of the net. With 1:32 left in the game, Oswego pulled goalie Bryn White in order to take a few last-minute shots. They were able to rattle off six shots, but came up just short at the final buzzer.
Oswego dominated in many areas of the game including total shots, shots-on-goal and faceoffs, but weren’t able to capitalize on their power-play opportunities. Although the Lakers dropped their final non-conference game of the 2021-22 season, they still remain fourth place in the NEWHL standings. They’ll have the opportunity to rebound from this loss against Morrisville State College on Friday, Jan. 28, before a three-game series versus SUNY Canton the following week. Puck drop is set for 7:00 p.m. at the Deborah F. Stanley Arena.
Image Provided By Shelby Peplowski, WTOP 10 Photography Department
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Oswego State Softball Heads to Geneseo for SUNYAC Doubleheader
GENESEO, N.Y. — Oswego State Softball takes the field after four full days off with a doubleheader on Friday, April 23rd in Geneseo at 3:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. as the Lakers take on the Knights. Geneseo enters at 7-4 (5-3) and in sole possession of first place in SUNYAC West Division, Oswego comes in at 5-5 (4-4) and a chance to take first place in SUNYAC West with a doubleheader sweep. Oswego is in a tight battle in the division as there is currently a three way tie between Fredonia, Brockport, and Oswego heading into the doubleheader.
Oswego and Geneseo met at Laker Softball Field on Friday, April 9th when Geneseo swept the Lakers 9-1 and 5-0. Fiona Higgins was the best hitter in the doubleheader going 2-4 with the only Oswego RBI on the day. Nicole Schwartz and Lauren Kersch combined to throw all 12 innings on the day (game one was abbreviated to five innings due to mercy rule) allowing just five hits, one unearned run and 12 strikeouts. Oswego has gone 4-2 since being swept by Geneseo, and will look to keep some offense rolling into the weekend which features a Friday doubleheader at Geneseo, and a Saturday doubleheader at home versus Buffalo State.
Madison Hoeflich won SUNYAC Pitcher of the Week last week with a 2-0 record, Hoeflich threw 10 innings allowing just seven hits and three runs to get her season ERA down to 2.66. Hoeflich will likely be locked in a pitchers duel in one of the games against Schwartz who has a 1.17 ERA, or Kersch with a 2.68 ERA very similar to Hoeflich. Zoe Mennig is not only the best hitter for Oswego, but also one of the best in the SUNYAC. Mennig leads SUNYAC in batting average with a .545, tied for second in the conference with three home runs, and leads the team in RBIs with 12. Oswego Softball plays four games in two days starting with a doubleheader Friday, April 23rd at Geneseo at 3:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m.
