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SUNYAC announces return of Spring Sports
OSWEGO, NY — Tuesday afternoon, SUNY Chancellor Jim Malatras announced that the SUNYAC conference will be returning on March 20th with spring sports. The sports of baseball, men’s and women’s lacrosse, softball, women’s tennis, and men’s and women’s outdoor track & field will all return as all of their seasons were cancelled last year when the COVID-19 pandemic begun.
The conference will be split into east and west divisions to limit travel and cost expenditures. The divisions will be based on geographic location with Interstate-81 being used to split New York state in two. For the sports of Women’s lacrosse and softball, two five team divisions will be used. Since Fredonia and Buffalo State do not sponsor men’s lacrosse programs, Cortland will compete in the west division and there will only be four teams per division. Lastly, women’s tennis will be without Buffalo State and Potsdam due to their lack of teams.
The other details that were announced yesterday regarding this decision revolve around logistical aspects of this season. Masks will be warn at all time except during the heat of the competition. No spectators will be allowed to watch games in person due to current New York State Department of Health guidelines. There will be regular weekly testing through each campus for athletes and team officials. Along with that, athletes will be tested three days prior to road trips. On those trips, no eating will be allowed on the buses and capacity must be reduced to 50 percent. During the game, there should be no handshakes and group celebrations.
SUNYAC Commissioner Tom DiCamillo stated that there will be more guidelines announced later along with schedules for every team and school. As of right now, the season will be opened with two women’s lacrosse match ups as Cortland plays Plattsburgh and Potsdam travels to Oneonta. WTOP 10 will continue to deliver news regarding SUNYAC spring sports in the future.
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Reynolds looks to lead the charge
OSWEGO, N.Y. — The Oswego State Field Hockey team has had a rough week of conference play, dropping conference games to Cortland on Tuesday and to Geneseo on Saturday. The Lakers are looking to turn it around with the help of senior forward Katie Reynolds who has been the team leader in goals scored this season.
Despite starting (1-2) in conference play, the Lakers have found an offensive spark thanks to Katie Reynolds who was recently named an Oswego State Athlete of the Week. She was awarded this based on her performances the week of Sept. 24. scoring a total of six goals in just two games. Reynolds scored two of the Lakers three goals in their (6-3) loss to Nazareth and a career-high of four goals in the win against Brockport.
“I mean when all four of those goals were scrambled in front of the cage, that is my time to shine,” said Reynolds. “If there is a scramble in front of the cage, I am going to do whatever it takes to get that ball in the back. But I could not have done it without the help of my midfield. The midfield did an awesome job taking the ball down and feeding it right to me.”
Reynolds finds herself having a very important position on the team being one of four seniors in comparison to the to the team’s twelve freshmen.
“It’s definitely a challenge because they overpower us,” Reynolds said. “There are twelve freshmen and there are only four seniors. “Having a strong leadership voice on the team is very important for us right now with such a young team.”
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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
