MORRISVILLE N.Y. — It was a big weekend for the mens lacrosse team as they took on SUNY Morrisville in an intense matchup. The two teams battled it out but in the end the lakers found a way to leave with the dub. Morrisville went up early and the Lakers refused to back down early. Senior Weston Grey was a monster scoring four goals to contribute big time in the teams victory. Gray was a madman and now has seven goals this season. Sophomore Gavin Elston and junior Jack Delany both had two goals a piece. Although Morrisville came back in the fourth to make it a two point game, Weston Grey put the nail in the coffin scoring the last goal of the contest. The Lakers look to keep their momentum as they go on the road to face St. Joseph’s college this Wednesday in a non conference matchup.
Image Provided by Oswego State Athletics
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Women’s Hockey Preview versus Morrisville
OSWEGO, NY — The 9-6-4 Women’s Hockey team is back in action Wednesday night as Morrisville travels back into the Marano Campus Center for a NEWHL match up. The Mustangs last traveled into Oswego last Friday which gave the Lakers their second lost in as many games. The 0-2 setback was only the third time the Laker offense has been shutout all season. This is shocking as the team’s offense has producing more than last season. The group is averaging more goals per game along with more shot opportunities per game.
This increase comes in part from the success of their first line, Megan Teachout, Eryn Stewart, and Amber Thomas. The freshman, senior, and transfer have combined for 58 points out of a team total of 141. The three forwards all are a top the points chart with Teachout leading in goals and Stewart leading in assists.
The increased offense may be the only season improvement though as the Lakers have allowed more goals per game this season than last year. The 2.4 goals per game compared to the 2018-19 season total of 2.2 goals is odd due to the fact that Oswego’s defensive core along with starting goaltender has mostly stayed the same between the seasons. Senior Rachael Farmer has already played more games than last season as she is now the only goaltender on the team roster. The goalie’s goals against average has increased from 1.84 to 2.35 along with her save percentage decreasing from a .942 to a .910.
The Lakers still hold the second spot in the NEWHL standings right behind Plattsburgh who has clinched the division for the third straight year. Currently, Oswego is on pace to finish in their highest seeding since joining the league as the team has never been the second seed before. But Oswego is currently in a four way battle for that second spot as Potsdam, Morrisville, and Cortland all are within two points of each other. Due to this, tonight’s match up is important in the fact that without a win, the Lakers could fall outside the top four, and miss the playoffs for the first time in nine years. This game is also the last time Oswego would see these three teams in the regular season, as Oswego only has Buffalo State left to play in conference play. Puck drop is 7 p.m. tonight from the Marano Campus Center.
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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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Lakers Field hockey battles in tough game on senior day
OSWEGO, N.Y. – The Lakers faced off against the Brockport Golden Eagles in a SUNYAC matchup on Saturday afternoon. The Lakers honored 6 seniors on Saturday including midfielder Megan Delaney, defender Kaitlyn Mastracco, defender Holly Carr, forward Kaitlyn Ahle, Midfielder Kacie Simzer and senior goalkeeper Erica Scheblein. The Lakers started off the game with a strong drive offensively and managed to get a penalty corner in the first 40 seconds of play but they were not able to capitalize. Both teams would remain pretty quiet for the next few minutes, but around the ten minute mark Brockport would pick things up offensively, getting seven shots off in the final five minutes of the first quarter. This would ultimately pay off for the Golden Eagles as Paige Thowe would sneak one past Scheblein on the left side of the goal for a 1-0 lead with 3 minutes left in the first.
Oswego would come out with another strong offensive push to start the second quarter, getting another penalty corner less than a minute into play. But Taylin Bauer missed her attempted wide and Kacie Simzer would miss her attempt wide a couple minutes later. The Lakers would have other chances to tie the match at one but were unable to capitalize on opportunities keeping the score at 1-0 going into halftime. Oswego would have only four shots in the first half, only one landing on goal while the Golden Eagles would have 11 shots, and eight on goal. Oswego was more on the offensive attack in third quarter beating Brockport 4-2 in shots on goal.The Lakers had some close chances, with two out of the four shots bouncing off of the crossbar and barely missing the goal.
Brockport’s goalie would be injured on a diving save late in the third, forcing her to exit the game and Brockport having to bring in a freshman goalkeeper. Fortunately, she was able to return at the start of the fourth and played the remainder of the game The Lakers had a few opportunities to tie the gamelate into the fourth off penalty corners and Kaitlyn Mastraco would come the closest but had her shot saved twice by Brockport’s goalie. The Lakers were not able to regroup and would fall 1-0 to Brockport
With 2 games left the Lakers are now 7-7(0-4 SUNYAC) and sit in 7th place in the SUNYAC. The Lakers will now head to Geneseo on October 22nd for a conference matchup against the Knights.
PHOTO COURTESY OF MICHELLE QUIACHON, WTOP10 PHOTOGRAPHY DEPARTMENT
