OSWEGO, N.Y. — Oswego State Men’s Lacrosse will be back in action on Friday, April 16th against the Brockport Golden Eagles. The Lakers are currently 0-3 overall in 2021 and lost their first game of the season to the Golden Eagles. Brockport defeated Oswego 12-5 in Rochester back on April 2nd and handed the Lakers their first conference lost. Since then, the Lakers have not been able to get it done in and out of conference play. The squad currently is in fourth in the SUNYAC West Division Standings behind third place Brockport. After Friday, the Lakers have three more games left before the end of the 2021 campaign.
Friday’s contest will be the biggest game to date for the Lakers because the result of this game could decide whether or not the Oswego team remains in the hunt for the SUNYAC Championship. Oswego comes into the contest being led by Lucas Cioch with eight points total. Through his first three collegiate games, the freshman midfielder has five points and three assists. Senior Liam Dollard has had a fast start to the 2021 season with three goals and one assist for four points. On the defensive side of the ball, senior goaltender Kevin O’Donnell has had a rocky start with the rest of the defense through the first three games of the season. The netminder is currently posting 43 goals against with a 14.33 goals against average and 39 saves for a .476 save percentage. Last season, O’Donnell had a .620 save percentage after their four game season in 2020.
The Lakers take on the Golden Knights on Friday, April 16th at 4 p.m. at Laker Turf Stadium. WTOP 10 will be live from the field to bring Oswego State fans all the action as the SUNYAC West Division heats up.
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Lakers Top Oneonta in Four Sets
OSWEGO, N.Y. – The Oswego State Lakers built upon their already-established momentum from Friday, as they shot down the Red Dragons of Oneonta on Saturday, Oct. 4, in four sets.
The first set saw the Red Dragons establish the tempo early on, as they quickly jumped out to a 6-0 lead, with exactly half of those six points coming off of errors from their opponent. However, the Lakers were undeterred, as they fought tooth and nail to make a comeback, and eventually took a 21-20 lead. This resurgence was built mainly by the trio of Gigi Basile, Priscilla McReynolds and Kalley Vugeteveen, as the three combined for 15 kills in the set, and helped lead the Lakers to a 26-24 win.
The second set was all Lakers in the initial stages, as Alaina Dudzinski contributed heavily in an offensive raid that facilitated a 9-2 lead early on. The Red Dragons attempted to make a comeback, and even tied it up 13-13 at one point, but the two-way attack of the Lakers would prove to be too much. Mya Bush strengthened her sophomore campaign, as she accounted for nine assists in the set, which aided the Lakers in finalizing a 25-21 win, for a 2-0 lead.
The Red Dragons were more synchronized than ever in the third set, as they seemingly came a step ahead of the Lakers in each facet of the game. The Lakers did keep it close throughout the first few back-and-forth possessions, but the Red Dragons, headlined by Colleen McCabe, Layla Pertchik and Emma Morretta, devised a tighter and more coordinated game plan to eventually pull away. Miscues turned out to be the Achilles heel for the Lakers, as they dropped the set, 25-19, on a service error, followed by the killshot from Keira Welsh.
The Lakers denied the Red Dragons any further momentum in the fourth and final set, even with a more balanced approach between both squads. The Lakers held a two-point advantage at one time, and ran away with it from there, as they tacked on five unanswered points, courtesy of aggressive individual showings from Grace Gdovin, Vugteveen and Bush. The Red Dragons also went on a little run of their own, too, showing signs of urgency in the late stages; however, those attempts turned sour, as Juliana Santafemia, CJ Eidem and McReynolds stood tall on the defensive end, and aided in a 25-18 win for the Lakers, allowing the team to hold their heads high in a 3-1 win.
The Lakers catch a three-day break in their schedule, as the homestand continues against Nazareth on Oct. 7 in the Max Ziel Gymnasium. Game time is set for 6 p.m.
Photos By: Jennifer Salie
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Lakers Fly Past Cardinals in SUNYAC Tournament Berth
For the 19th straight season, the Oswego State Lakers have clinched the SUNYAC Tournament and what a better way to do it than on Valentine’s day. The Lakers defeated the Cardinals on Friday night during their six point victory thanks to a combined, 43 point effort from seniors Brandon Gartland and Joe Sullivan.
Plattsburgh kept it close throughout the first half while using their best rendition of ‘Anything You Can Do I Can Do Better’. Each time the Lakers grabbed a bucket on one end, the Cardinals always had an answer. Oswego held the lead by four points or less through the first ten minutes of the contest but three minutes later, with an already shallow selection on the bench, Plattsburgh Head Coach Mike Blaine had some decision making to do following the injury of Forward Jeremy Eisenmen. Eisenmen went down hard after crashing the boards and was clutching his left knee. He was able to put pressure on it but would not return to the game.
In his absence, Matt Bernhard, a 5’10” stud off the bench, executed a perfect first half of shooting off the bench. Aside from his one missed free throw, he shot 3-3 from distance and 4-4 from the field ending with 12 of the Cardinals 34 points at halftime.
Brandon Gartland shot five for eight from behind the arc in the first half, good enough to lead the book with 15 points at the break. Joe Sullivan was a vital part of the first half for the Lakers tallying nine free throw attempts and sinking five of them. Sullivan struggled to find his rhythm early on but that would change going into the second half.
General Joe flipped the switch coming out of the locker room scoring 12 of his 21 in the second frame. Sullivan shot 5-13 in the second half and ended with 8 rebounds and 8 assists to add onto his impressive scoring performance. Coach Leone was happy with his big man’s performance.
“Joe plays hard every night,” Leone said. “He’s a senior and he is doing what we would hope seniors do at this point in their senior season. I’m really pleased with the things he did tonight. He deserves it.”
However, Gartland went in the opposite direction having a rather quiet second half. He scored just seven points adding his total to 22 without a single three pointer in after the break. “They were sticking a little tighter to me,” Gartland expressed. “Other people were making plays and we were still scoring.” For what he lacked on the offensive end, he made up for on the defensive end with four steals and a couple big time stops down the stretch.
Plattsburgh got into some foul trouble five minutes into the second half when Erik Salo was charged with his fourth personal. Now with Eisenmen injured and Salo playing restricted and cautious minutes, the only other options off the bench were Marlon Todd and freshman Lamont Hough Jr. who never saw the floor.
With six to go, the Lakers turned on the after-burners going on an 8-2 run in a minute and 28 seconds taking a 69-61 lead with 4:05 remaining. The Cardinals never came back from this lead, falling short to the Lakers 75-69. It came down to protecting the ball tonight and Plattsburgh was not proficient in that category. Averaging 15 turnovers a game, Coach Blaine’s Cardinals exceeded that margin with 16 and 11 of those turnovers came in the second half.
Coach Jason Leone was excited about clinching the SUNYAC tournament for the ninth time in his nine years as the head coach of Oswego State but recognized that there was still work to do following Friday night. “We’re in the playoffs,” Leone expressed. “So now we are in a battle to try and get a home game. Every game has a significant meaning from here on out.” With Potsdam traveling to Laker hall at 4:00 pm for the second game of the back to back, the Lakers have a win under their belt and look to continue their winning ways after Improving to 16-5 on the year.
