BROCKPORT, N.Y. — Oswego State Softball heads to the road this weekend, eager to steal 4 crucial SUNYAC West division points against a familiar foe in the Brockport Golden Eagles. Oswego has gotten the best of Brockport and most of their recent matchups, winning 8 of 10 matchups since the 2016 season. However for this doubleheader, it will be crucial Oswego are able to complete a sweep to jump over Brockport in the standings to make a last minute push for a playoff spot. The Lakers are currently last in the SUNYAC West Standings.
In their last meeting almost a month ago, the Lakers were able to split the doubleheader with Brockport with lots of offense in their win and very little in the loss. Oswego would lose their first game of the series 5-2 but were able to bounce back with a convincing win 9-3 and Zoe Mennig and Madelana Wrubel contributed with two runs a piece. It will be a battle for the Lakers nonetheless as they have not swept the Golden Eagles on their home field since April of 2017.
As for Brockport they have been fairly 50/50 with going 3-3 in their last 6 as well as going 5-5 currently on the entire season including the SUNYAC. Brockport will look to rely on names such as Olivia Hayden to carry the offense as she leads the team in hits as well as runs. It sure should be a good one at the Clark V. Whited Complex in Brockport as two teams try and push for that two seed in the West Division through the fading stretch of the season, first pitch scheduled for 12 p.m. for the first game and 2 p.m. for game two.
Image Provided by William Rogers, WTOP 10 Photography Department
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Progress Report: Oswego State men’s hockey
OSWEGO, N.Y. — After last night’s contest in Rochester, the Oswego State men’s hockey team has completed twelve games prior to the turn of the New Year. After six SUNYAC games and five nonconference games, the Lakers find themselves with a overall record of 8-3-1. The Lakers head into Christmas Break on a five game win streak. Oswego State also posts a stellular away record which features six wins and only one lost along with a tie.
Game Recap: Oswego State @ Nazareth College
Saturday night, the Lakers headed west to Rochester to take on the Nazareth College Golden Flyers. Nazareth College was hosting the annual Hockey Fights Cancer game at Bill Gray’s Regional Iceplex so the Lakers wore their teal jerseys and the Golden Flyers wore special uniforms to honor the cause. Oswego State halted a Nazareth College comeback in overtime to get their fifth straight win by a score line of 6-5. This win was head coach Ed Gosek‘s 350th win as the bench boss for the Oswego State Lakers. His all time record as Oswego State’s head coach improves to 350-111-31 and currently posts a winning percentage of .743. Oswego State forward Alex DiCarlo would net two goals in the contest, both in the first period to put the Lakers ahead. Tyler Flack would have an assist on both of those goals along with two assists later in the contest to put up a four point night and lead the Lakers on the stats sheet. Nazareth would answer in the first period to cut the lead in half but the Lakers would find an answer in the next stanza. Oswego State would net another two goals as Connor Sleeth got a pair of his own. Sleeth was also a factor in the faceoff circle with ten wins, the most from any Oswego State player. The Golden Flyers would string together four goals in the third period, two of them coming from Spencerport native Nick Charron. The tying goal would come with one second remaining off a faceoff that push the game into overtime.
Oswego State and Nazareth would trade shots to start the overtime period before the Lakers gained procession around the one minute mark. Ryan Dickinson would be the hero the Lakers needed after the defenseman redirected the puck off a pass from DiCarlo. The forward would finish with two goals and one assist in the contest. Goaltender Eric Green would finish the contest in between the pipes as starting netminder Steven Kozikoski left the game with the trainer at the end of regulation. Kozikoski would make a total of 27 saves over the course of the sixty minutes of hockey.
Progress Report
With thirteen regular season games left prior to the start of the SUNYAC Championships, the Lakers have a nineteen day rest before the start of the Clarion/Best Western Oswego Hockey Classic. This group of young talent currently sits fifth in the conference standings with six SUNYAC games completed. The Lakers have 13 points posting a 4-1-1 conference record. One positive, the four teams ahead of Oswego State (Geneseo, Cortland, Plattsburgh State, Brockport) have all finished eight conference games. The Lakers have the advantage heading into the second half of the season with two extra conference games still ahead on the calendar. Oswego State still needs to face Buffalo State and Fredonia as those four contests linger on the schedule. Both western teams have had a rough start in terms of conference play.
In terms of offense, the Oswego State Lakers average 3.3 goals per game. The offense goes through both Alex DiCarlo and captain Travis Broughman who are both tied for the points lead with a total of thirteen. DiCarlo has found his freshman form once again and has eight tallies along with eight assist for that thirteen point total. The sophomore is currently on a three game point streak which includes two games that feature multiple point nights. Broughman headed into Rochester with a four game point streak which featured a five point night in SUNY Canton against the Kangaroos. The captains nine assists is a team high and also included in his stat column are four goals for his thirteen point total. Currently these two players are the only Lakers above a point per game. Newcomers like Connor Sleeth and Tyler Flack have also made an impact in the Lakers offense both posting nine points through twelve games. Sleeth heads into January with three goals and six assists while Flack has two goals and seven assists.
On the other side of the puck, the Lakers defensive core averages 2.3 goals against per game, the fourth best in the SUNYAC conference. Out of the eight defenseman on the roster, there is not one that has not dressed in all twelve games so far this season. The team effort on defense has kept opponents to just an average of 25.5 shots per game which compares to the 30.4 that the Lakers average on net. Transfer Troy Robillard leads the team in blocks with a total of fourteen after his eleven games played in an Oswego State uniform. In between the pipes, starting netminder Steven Kozikoski has come to mid season form after a slower start. The Laker currently averages 1.90 goals against and posts a .931 save percentage after his ten games played this season. Newcomer Eric Green has also seen time in net for Oswego State and holds a 2.89 goals against average and has a .840 save percentage. The tandem has done a solid job in the first half of the season especially in tight games.
The special teams have also come a long way after a slow start in the 2021-22 season. As of right now, the Oswego State Lakers power play unit ranks number one in the SUNYAC with a 34.7 efficiency percentage. The Lakers have scored a total of seventeen power play goals over the course of forty nine opportunities. When the Lakers are a man down, Oswego State has only given up seven power play goals to opponents, the same as Geneseo. The Oswego State Lakers rank fourth in the conference with a penalty kill that has a 84.1 success rate. The special team units will be essential to success in the second half of the season.
On the other side of the break, Oswego State will have to look forward to the annual Clarion/Best Western Oswego Hockey Classic. This year, the #4 Augsburg Auggies, SUNY Canton Kangaroos, and Skidmore Thoroughbreds will head to SUNY Oswego to compete in the Deborah F. Stanley Arena. On Saturday, January 1st, SUNY Canton will take on Skidmore College at 3:00 p.m. prior to the Oswego State Lakers facing off against the Augsburg University Auggies at 7:00 p.m. in front of a hometown crowd. Sunday’s match ups will be determined by the results from Saturday but Oswego State will play during the 7:00 p.m. time slot. Oswego State has only played Augsburg University once during the 2008-09 season during the Oswego Hockey Classic. The Lakers were victorious in that contest with a final score of 5-2. The Lakers will play six more contests after that weekend in January and a majority of those games will be SUNYAC match ups. WTOP 10 will continue to provide coverage of the Oswego State men’s hockey team and the group continues their hunt for a conference championship in the 2021-22 season.
Image Provided by Oswego State Athletics
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Men’s soccer goes splits in D.C. tournament
OSWEGO N.Y. — The Oswego State men’s soccer team travelled down to Washington D.C. for a tournament over the weekend. The first game was their first challenge of the season, taking on #23 ranked Montclair State from Montclair, NJ. The Redhawks found the scoreboard first, a header from a corner kick just before the ten minute mark in the game. Three minutes later Montclair got a penalty kick, but a big save by goalkeeper Matt D’Arpino kept the game at 1-0. Three shots toward the end of the half by the Lakers wouldn’t find the back of the net and both sides headed to the half. D’Arpino recorded four saves in the first half, and Kyle Gehnrich led the team with four shots. The Lakers continued to fire shots on the Montclair goal in the second half, six in total, but none found netting, and the game ended 1-0. A total of five yellow cards were given out during the game, two for the Lakers and three for the Redhawks, as well as a whooping 24 fouls, 17 of them called on Montclair. D’Arpino finished the contest with six saves. Chris Smith led the team in shots on goal with two.
Game two was played on Sunday against Baruch College from New York City. A much better offensive outing for the Lakers. Just a minute into the contest Kyle Gehnrich found the back on the net for the Lakers first goal of the season. With 24 minutes to go in the half, a cross from Chris Smith found the head of Jason Wuytack got pass the goalie for the second goal of the game and Wuytack‘s first career goal. The Lakers third goal came at the 31:26 mark. The Lakers held the ball for three straight minutes prior to the goal, Kieran Gilroy tapping it in after a save. Oswego dominated the first half in shots 14-4. Ten minutes into the second half, Baruch pulled one back, heading in a cross. Just one minute later, the Lakers brought the deficit back to three, Kyle Gehnrich passed it into Chris Smith who won a one on one with the goalie bringing the score up to 4-1, the final score of the game. Oswego dominated the game, winning 23-7 in shots and 8-1 in corner kicks. Baruch players got the only two yellow cards on the game. Gehnrich and Smith each had two goal contributions in the game.
Oswego is now 1-1 on the season, with three games left before they open SUNYAC play. The Lakers next game comes against Hamilton college in Clinton, NY on Wednesday, September 7 at 4:30 P.M.
IMAGE COURTESY OF OSWEGO ATHLETICS
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Oswego State Softball gets set for RIT
The Oswego State Softball team takes the field Monday, March 22nd, for the first time since May 4th, 2019. The Lakers go on the road to take on RIT in a Monday afternoon doubleheader slated to take place at 3:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. The Lakers nearly 700 day off season is shown in roster changes. Four of the 14 girls who appeared in the most recent game, against Cortland in the SUNYAC playoffs are on the roster this year. The 2021 Oswego softball roster features ten newcomers along with seven upperclassmen who return from the 2019 team. The upperclassmen on the team will have a big leadership role this year because the two classes have not seen game action in their college careers.
The Tigers of RIT also have not yet played a game this season, but they were able to play ten in 2020 when they went 7-3 overall. The Tigers feature a very experienced team with nine upperclassmen plus two graduate students. Oswego starts their season with four games in Rochester, with two games against RIT at 3:00 and 5:00 Monday, March 22, as well as 1:00 and 3:00 Sunday March 28 at St. John Fisher. All of these games are non-conference as SUNYAC play does not start until April 1st.
