Dan Doolan is a graduate student on the men’s lacrosse team. His senior season was canceled due to COVID-19 and he is the only one of the 15 seniors from the 2020 team to return this year. Spring student-athletes last year were granted an extra year of eligibility and Doolan, who was already planning on coming back for grad school will get to play another season of men’s lacrosse.
Dan Doolan has come a long way since his freshman year at Oswego, as a freshman, he had five points. In his junior year, he would change that to 31 points which included 22 goals. Doolan will be stepping into a leadership role this year as a great example of both grinding to develop as a player, as well as being the eldest member of the team. Head Coach Drew Bezek has high praise for this special member of his first recruiting class.
“It’s exciting to have somebody on the field that younger guys can look at his development, and understand that sometimes there’s a process to get where you want to be.” Bezek said.
Doolan is currently taking classes to get his MBA and plans to graduate in June. For the rest of the semester, he will get to experience the grind of balancing sport and school, which was taken away from so many student-athletes in the past year. The Oswego State Men’s Lacrosse team kick off their 2021 season Friday, April 2nd, on the road in Brockport.
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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 State men’s basketball finishes fall semester on 3-game win streak
OSWEGO, N.Y. — The Oswego State men’s basketball team concluded the 2021 fall semester with a pair of SUNYAC wins, extending their win streak to three. The Lakers defeated Buffalo State 79-63 on Friday and SUNY Brockport 85-58 on Saturday.
Going into Friday’s matchup, the Lakers went in confident following their victory over SUNY Cortland a few days prior. That confidence showed early in the game as the Lakers raced out to a 9-0 lead to begin the first half. Oswego pushed their lead to 33-13 with just 3:16 remaining in the half. The Lakers went into halftime leading 41-25 with the Oswego bench outscoring Buffalo State’s bench 23-0. Oswego continued their dominance in the second half as the Bengals got no closer than 16 points. Four Lakers finished with double-digit points including Julian Crittendon (14), Ahkee Anderson (11), Jeremiah Sparks (11) and Brendan Mulson (10). Oswego out-rebounded Buffalo State 46-37, led by junior Devin Green who finished with a team-high seven rebounds.
Much like Friday’s matchup versus Buffalo State, the Lakers started off their game against SUNY Brockport leading 9-0. Though, the Golden Eagles stormed back with an 11-0 run of their own. Oswego was able to capitalize on several runs throughout the first half and went into halftime leading 51-26. The Lakers led by as much as 30 points in the contest and won by 27, their second largest margin of victory this season. Oswego was led by Devin Green who had a team-high 15 points on the night.
With these pair of victories, the Lakers improve to 6-1 on the season and move into 2nd place in the SUNYAC standings. After a short hiatus, Oswego will head to Fredonia to challenge the Blue Devils on Saturday, Dec. 11. Tip-off is set for 2:00 p.m.
Image Provided By Oswego State Athletics
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Oswego State men’s lacrosse battles with SUNY Geneseo
GENESEO, N.Y. — The Oswego State men’s lacrosse team traveled down Interstate 90 to the SUNY Geneseo’s campus to take on the Knights in another SUNYAC matchup this past Friday night. The Lakers would fall 11-10 to the Knights of SUNY Geneseo after Oswego State could not complete the comeback late in regulation. The Lakers would fall to 3-1 in the SUNYAC and 8-3 overall as their lengthy win streak comes to an end.
Ryan Eccles would open the scoring with 10 minutes remaining in the first quarter. Eccles would 2 goals and 1 assists for 3 points over the course of the contest. Gavin Elston and Corey O’Connor would lead the team on offense with 4 points at the end of regulation. The Lakers would have the lead heading into the second half, but SUNY Geneseo was able to tie the game heading into the fourth and final quarter. Elston and Liam Sexton looked to lead the comeback in the final 5 minutes of the game but the Knights were able to hold the Lakers to only 10 goals. Aiden Kenyon would make 17 saves during the contest in between the pipes for Oswego State. His goals against average is now 8.88 goals against per game.
The Lakers fall to fourth in the conference with a record of 3-1. The team is tied with SUNY Brockport and has a good chance of heading back to the post season with only 3 games remaining before playoffs. Next Saturday, the Lakers will head to SUNY Oneonta to take on the Red Dragons. SUNY Oneonta is currently 1-3 in the conference with a 2-9 overall record. The Lakers will then host SUNY Cortland and SUNY Brockport to round out the season, two teams that sit above Oswego State in the SUNYAC season standings. WTOP 10 will continue to provide coverage of the Oswego State men’s lacrosse team as the group looks for a berth to the post season.
Image Provided By Oswego State Athletics (@OswegoAthletics)
