OSWEGO — On Senior Day, the Oswego State Men’s Soccer team picked up a win last Saturday as they defeated the Fredonia Blue Devils by a score of (2-1). Caleb Asamoah was able to score the go-ahead goal for the Lakers off the assist from Jack Van Pelt. The (5-7-1) Lakers travel to Brockport this Friday take on the Golden Eagles at 7 p.m.
-
Oswego’s Men’s Lacrosse Team Set to Begin 2021 Season
OSWEGO, NY — The Oswego State Men’s Lacrosse Team is set to take on SUNY Oneonta on Saturday, March 20th to kick off their 2021 season. This will be the Oswego Men’s Lacrosse team’s first action in over a year due to the pandemic. However, unlike prior seasons, conference play is set to begin earlier than ever before, starting March 26th versus Geneseo. Senior goaltender Kevin O’Donnell understands just how important these early games are to set the tone for the rest of the season.
“With SUNYACs coming up so soon and those being the most important games for our team, the level of expectancy exceeds any other season in my opinion,” O’Donnell said. “Especially with the teams were playing, Morrisville, Oneonta, and then the rest of the SUNY division, it’s important that were on our A-game.”
O’Donnell is now a team captain and is looking to surpass 400 career saves in the coming games.
Being that this is the Lakers first game since March of 2020, it’s important that they eliminate any mistakes or confusion they might have. Head Coach Drew Bezek, who is going into his 7th season on the coaching staff, believes his team needs to master their game plan early on in order to be successful.
“With early season games, it’s always about limiting mistakes and doing what we need to do. A lot of times with the beginning part of the season, you’re not so worried about your competition and what they run. It’s us being super-efficient and consistent at what we’re trying to do.”
Although many things are different this season for the players, coaches, and staff, film sessions and scouting remain an important aspect of Oswego’s success. However, since teams only played a few games in 2020, the Lakers will have to anticipate Oneonta’s game plan based off what they saw from early last year.
Coach Bezek said, “We’ll treat this year similar to the past where for the first game of the year, your kind of going off tendencies from the previous year. We’re not going to know some of their new players, but from the film, we could try to piece together how they run their system.”
The Lakers have won their last four games vs. Oneonta dating back to 2016 and look to extend their win streak to five on Saturday.
Package Aired Thursday 3/18/21 on Nightly News
-
Oswego State Softball Falls to Fredonia to Wrap Up 2021 Season
OSWEGO, N.Y. — The Oswego State Softball team finished their 2021 season on Wednesday at Fredonia for a SUNYAC West doubleheader. The Lakers were swept by the Blue Devils by scores of 12-8 and 7-0, ending the season on a two game losing streak.
Game one started with two runs in the top of the first inning to open the game from the Lakers. Oswego would continue their offensive dominance by snagging five more runs by the middle of the 4th inning, lead by Taylor DuBois and Aleah Yaizzo. The two combined for 4 runs, 7 hits, and 6 RBIs. Fredonia would have an answer in the bottom of the inning with six runs to add to their two runs from the first two innings. The Blue Devils would continue to push on offense and grabbed four more runs by the end of the sixth inning. The Lakers were unable to bounce back after only snagging one run in the sixth inning. Madison Hoeflich would get tagged with the loss after yielding just four earned runs and striking out four Blue Devils.
Heading into game two, the Lakers looked to bounce back and get another split to end the 2021 campaign. The Blue Devils never let the Lakers see the light as the Fredonia squad was able to get a 7-0 shutout victory. Fredonia tallied 6 runs in the bottom of the third inning to take a big lead over the Lakers. There were no runs scored after that point in the contest, and Oswego’s Leah Czerwinski secured a double that was the lone hit from the Lakers. Hoeflich and Samantha Morgan split time on the mound, each securing three strikeouts over the course of their time pitching.
In terms of the SUNYAC Championship, Oswego was eliminated from contention a week ago but could have played spoiler as Fredonia now holds second place in the division with a 9-7 record. Buffalo State is the only team in the SUNYAC West who has clinched a playoff spot. Geneseo and Brockport can still catch Fredonia for the second and final spot as the two teams have a doubleheader against each other this week. Oswego will finish in last in the division with a 5-11 conference record and overall post a 8-14 record.
For Gabrielle Rivers, her first season as head coach had its ups and downs as the Lakers split doubleheaders six times and had a three game win streak during the middle of the season. Zoe Mennig lead the Lakers at the plate with a .423 average and 30 hits over the course of the season. Madelana Wrubel lead in the runs category, coming to home plate 16 times. Hoeflich lead the small pitching squad with a 2.48 ERA with five wins and five losses on the mound. The Lakers return 13 out of 16 players next season as the group looks to get back to the regular conference format.
Image Provided by William Rogers, WTOP 10 Photography Department
-
Oswego State men’s hockey hosts semifinals of SUNYAC Championship
OSWEGO, N.Y. — The SUNYAC Championship for men’s hockey kicked off this past Saturday with two quarterfinal games, one in Cortland and the other up in North Country. Oswego State received a bye to semifinals round due to their performance in the regular season. The Lakers are the two seed in the bracket this season and after Saturday’s results, Oswego State will host SUNY Cortland to decide who will fight for the conference championship.
2021-22 Season Recap:
At the end of the regular season, the Lakers finished with an overall record of 17-6-1 and a SUNYAC conference record of 12-3-1 which was good for second in the conference standings. While in the Deborah F. Stanley Arena, Oswego State is 8-3-0 on home ice. The group started off 0-2 after two losses opening weekend against two nationally ranked nonconference opponents, Hobart College and Elmira College. The Lakers would go one a streak after that contest only dropping games against nationally ranked opponents like SUNY Geneseo and Augsburg University.
The team’s offense has been through senior captain Travis Broughman who was recently named to All-SUNYAC First Team due to his performance in the regular season. The Laker forward finished with thirteen goals and sixteen assists totaling to twenty nine points in only twenty four regular season games. Alex DiCarlo finished right behind his captain as was the only other Oswego State player that was above a point per game. The junior finished with thirteen goals and twelve assists for twenty five points.
Newcomers Connor Sleeth, Tyler Flack, and Tommy Cahill have been bright spots in the lineup after breaking out their first season in the green and gold uniform. The three combined for a total of forty eight points this season. Shane Bull also totaled twelve points in his first season in NCAA Division III men’s hockey.
On the defensive side of the puck, senior netminder Steven Kozikoski was named to the All-SUNYAC Second Team due to his performances in the regular season while in between the pipes for Oswego State. The Liverpool native logged over one thousand minutes of ice time and posted statistics like a 2.00 goals against average and a .926 save percentage. Backup goaltender Eric Green played in eight contests for the Lakers and finished with a 2.15 goals against average and a .889 save percentage.
SUNYAC Playoffs Preview:
Wednesday evening, SUNY Brockport will travel to SUNY Geneseo to face off against the number one seed and nationally ranked Ice Knights in a semifinal contest. Brockport defeated Plattsburgh State in overtime by a score line of 6-5. If Geneseo can get the job against the Golden Eagles, the Geneseo Ice Knights will host the Championship game once again in the IRA.
In terms of Oswego State hockey, the Lakers take on the SUNY Cortland Red Dragons for the 96th time in program history. This season, Oswego State defeated Cortland both times in the regular season, securing six points against the Red Dragons. Oswego State holds the history in their favor with a record against SUNY Cortland of 82-11-2 all time. Their first contest dates back to the 1976-77 season when Oswego State defeated SUNY Cortland by a score of 6-2 on home ice.
The matchup in the Marano Campus Center should feature an offensive team against some solid goaltending out of SUNY Cortland. The Lakers score on average 3.5 times per game while opponents can only net an average of 2.1 against Oswego State. In terms of Cortland, the Red Dragons score an average of 3.3 goals per game.
Game Details:
Oswego State Laker fans can catch the playoff game at 7:00 p.m. in the Deborah F. Stanley Arena. The first 500 SUNY Oswego Students will receive a gold Oswego State Lakers t-shirt courtesy of Oswego State Athletics. WTOP 10 will be live at 6:30 p.m. with the pre-game show live from the perch inside the arena. Fans can tune in at twitch.tv/wtop10tv on any mobile device, laptop, or television.
Image Provided By William Rogers, WTOP 10 Photography Department
