OSWEGO, N.Y. — The Oswego State men’s lacrosse team dropped their last game of the regular season on Friday, falling to the Brockport Golden Eagles 13-12. In the Friday night contest which saw the Oswego faithful pack the bleachers of Laker Turf Stadium, Brockport would go on to defeat the home team in heartbreaking fashion — scoring the game-winning goal with 34 seconds remaining in regulation.
Oswego was in a “win-and-you’re-in” scenario in regards to making the SUNYAC playoffs. Knowing this, the Lakers opened up the scoring early with Weston Gray getting his first goal of the game. Though, from there, Brockport went on to score five consecutive goals to make it a 5-1 ballgame at the end of the first quarter. To begin the second quarter, Ryan Eccles set up Gray with a nice feed which allowed him to get his second goal of the evening. Shortly after, Eccles got a goal for himself to cut the Golden Eagles lead to two. Then in a man-up opportunity, Brockport shot one past Aiden Kenyon to stretch their lead back to three goals. This is when the momentum started to shift in the Lakers favor. Spanning from 1:37 in the second quarter to 9:37 in the third, Oswego scored five unanswered goals to take a 8-6 lead. Included in these goals were Gavin Elston from Eccles, Ryan Dumont from Gray, Corey O’Connor from Elston, Max Broadman from Eccles, and Elston from Eccles.
From there, Brockport went on to score the next three goals of the game, capitalizing on several Laker turnovers and a man-up opportunity. Right before the third quarter came to a close, Owen Spearing got loose and shot a zinger past the Brockport goalie for his first goal of the year. This goal made the large Oswego crowd erupt with energy, which carried on throughout the fourth quarter. Both teams went back-and-forth throughout the final fifteen minutes of play. Elston scored once more for his 29th goal of the season, but this was followed up with a Brockport goal just 30 seconds later. At the 8:58 mark, Elston was left wide open and hit paydirt again, making it a 11-10 game in favor of the Lakers. A minute later, Cameron Tallman put another one in for Oswego to give them a two-point lead. The Golden Eagles weren’t going to go away that easy, though. Brockport capitalized on a late defensive rotation and shot one past Kenyon, bringing the deficit to one. Then at the 3:15 mark, Brockport forced a Laker turnover and found the back of the net to tie the game. Over the final three minutes of play, both teams played with a major sense of urgency and it looked like neither team would budge. However, after a Brockport timeout with 42 seconds left, Rocco Santillo beat his man with a quick face dodge and scored the Golden Eagles’ 13th goal of the night. Though, the drama and anticipation wouldn’t end there. After Oswego won the ensuing faceoff, Brockport was called for a cross check which gave the Lakers a much needed man-up opportunity. With 24 seconds left on the clock, Coach Eccles called a timeout and drew up his best play. Coming out of the timeout, Oswego wasn’t able to find a clean look, but somehow found a man right in front of the crease. However, the shot attempt was stuffed at the goal line and as the balled rolled towards the sideline, the clock ran out along with Oswego’s dwindling playoff hopes. Brockport wins 13-12.
On the night in which Oswego celebrated two seniors – Weston Gray and Tyler Scordo – the Lakers were unable to come away with a victory despite having less turnovers (21-25). With this loss, Oswego dropped to 8-6 (3-4 in conference) on the season and will just miss out on the SUNYAC playoffs as they were jumped by SUNY Oneonta. Although Oswego has a better overall record than the Red Dragons, they both finished with the same conference record, with Oneonta holding the head-to-head tie-breaker over the Lakers. As it stands, the #4 seed Oneonta Red Dragons will travel to take on the #1 seed Cortland Red Dragons on May 4. The first round will also see the #3 seed Brockport Golden Eagles face the #2 seed Geneseo Knights.
Despite the abrupt end to the 2022 season, Oswego was much improved this year, finishing with their best record since 2019 and their highest goal output in program history. As the spring season comes to a close, Oswego fans can rest assured knowing the men’s lacrosse program has a bright future ahead.
Image Provided By Oswego State Athletics
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