OSWEGO, NY — As students begin to make their return to the shores of Lake Ontario, Oswego State will be without collegiate sports for the fall semester due to COVID-19. SUNYAC Conference postponed their Fall 2020 sports, like other conferences, back in the month of July due to the pandemic. The Men’s Golf team will also have to wait until Spring 2021 as the Empire 8 conference postponed the fall season as well. Most recently, the Northeast Women’s Hockey League that contains the Oswego Women’s Hockey team moved the start date for their season to January 1st, to follow suit with the rest of the conferences. This means all Oswego State teams will be without intercollegiate competition till the start of the new calendar year. Along with NCAA sports, all club sports through the school have been postponed till 2021.
However, this does not mean the teams will not be able to keep in game shape. Over the course of the fall semester, Oswego State teams will be able to have team practices during a certain period of time. Stated in the Oswego Forward Plan, the Athletics Department has created a four-week period after the return to activity period when teams can conduct up to 16 practices. The Men’s and Women’s Cross Country, Men’s and Women’s Soccer, and Field Hockey teams will begin practice the week of August 31st. The Women’s Volleyball, Men’s Golf, and Men’s and Women’s Tennis teams will begin the following week of September 7th. The next week, the Baseball, Softball, and Men’s and Women’s Lacrosse teams will begin practicing, these being all Spring sports. Winter sports can start their practices in early October but will end before Thanksgiving Break. Obviously, the winter sports teams will begin their scheduled games as early as the first week of January if the threat of COVID-19 is minimal in the eyes of the athletic conferences and colleges.
With no Live Sports to broadcast during the Fall 2020 semester, WTOP 10 will have a different semester ahead of us. The Live Sports Department still has plans for this semester as the group looks to deliver content to the Oswego sports community until the return of the Lakers. Check our social media pages for more updates as students begin to prepare to return to campus.
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Men’s Hockey Preview versus SUNY Cortland
OSWEGO — The Men’s Hockey team will start their 2019-2020 regular season today against SUNYAC opponent Cortland. The Lakers are looking to continue their success last season versus the Red Dragons after sweeping their opponent both home and away. The most recent preseason poll has the Lakers slotted in the sixth position under Hobart (5) and Geneseo (3). After going 2-0 against Carleton Place and Nazareth in exhibition, the top story going into this season is who Ed Gosek will be starting between the pipes. Puck drop will be at 7 p.m. at the Marano Campus center. Of course WTOP10 has you covered with Hockey Night in Oswego starting at 6:30 p.m.
Photo Provided by Alexis Fragapane
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Lakers field hockey wins season finale
OSWEGO, N.Y. – The Oswego state field hockey team won their regular season finale over Morrisville on the Laker turf Wednesday. Oswego started out the contest strong offensively starting with a Kacie Simzer goal just over 2 minutes into the contest. The Lakers would receive several penalty corners following the goal in the first quarter. Oswego kept their foot on the gas through the rest of the first and had 7 shots in the first half compared to the mustangs 0. Kacie Simzer would quickly strike again for the Lakers, just over 2 minutes into the second quarter assisted by Megan Delaney. Oswego was able to keep the pressure on with several penalty corners. That eventually led to another goal at the 28 minute mark from Kacie Simzer who would get a hat trick on the day, recording her third goal of the afternoon with an assist from Kate Mcnally. Following another corner for the Lakers, Kate Mcnally was able to get one of her own scoring the fourth goal for the Lakers right before the end of the first half. The Lakers closed out the first half with a dominant performance, getting 20 shots off against the Mustangs. Oswego had 13 corners in the first half of play which allowed Oswego to hold a 4-0 lead at the half.Oswego would continue their high scoring affair through the start of the third quarter, adding another goa just 4 minutes into play by Kaitlyn Ahle assisted by Nancy Pagliaroli. The Lakers controlled the third quarter continuing to allow no opportunities for the Mustangs. Kaitlyn Mastracco was able to get in on the action and she scored the sixth goal on the day for the Lakers, scoring just over 3 minutes into the fourth quarter. Kacie Simzer would continue her great day recording her fourth goal of the afternoon with just under 10 minutes remaining in play. Simzer tied her career high for goals, and also tied the school record yet again. Oswego would finish the contest allowing 0 shots against Erica Scheblein and attempting 34 shots on offense.
The Lakers finished off their season with an 8-8 record, and also recorded their first SUNYAC win, giving them a 1-5 conference record on the year. Heather Moore finishes her final game as the Lakers coach with a win in a position she held for 6 seasons
PHOTO COURTESY OF MICHELLE QUIACHON, WTOP PHOTOGRAPHY DEPARTMENT
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Lakers Show Out in Oswego Volleyball Classic
Oswego, N.Y. – The Oswego State volleyball team welcomed a slew of squads to the Max Ziel gymnasium on Friday as the Oswego State Invitational kicked off, with the Lakers taking on the Brockport Golden Eagles in the first contest of the day at 2 p.m.
The Lakers controlled the tempo from the outset, as an offensive onslaught from the home squad led to an early 10-4 lead. Unfortunately for the Golden Eagles, errors loomed large, and they struggled to find a semblance of footing. The Lakers operated off of beneficiaries Grace Gdovin, Priscilla McReynolds and Kalley Vugteveen and others, to help lift the squad to a 25-14 win in the first set.
The second set was far tighter than the first, with ties and lead changes occurring amidst a competitive bout. The Golden Eagles found an edge when they went up 18-13, but the Lakers would not go down without a fight. They climbed all the way back, and the contest was eventually knotted up at 23, but late-stage heroics from Gigi Basile and Vugteveen pushed the Lakers over the hump as they took the second set, 25-23, to go up 2-0.
The third set replicated what happened in much of the second, with both squads matching up evenly. The Golden Eagles fought tooth and nail, and while they were able to generate momentum, errors once again proved to be more than costly. Moreover, the Lakers applied an aggressive offensive attack that was fueled by high-IQ plays, which led them to a 22-18 lead, and eventually a 25-21 win, thanks to Alaina Dudzinski and Gdovin coming through as clutch. The Lakers laid claim to their first victory of the day, and would hand the court to Western Connecticut and Keuka, as the two faced off at 4 p.m.
The sophisticated offensive schemes of Western Connecticut overpowered Keuka, as one of the constitution state’s own came out on top, 3-0. They held a height advantage, which allowed them to meet their opponents at the net and deny potential chances at scoring. That was one of many deciding factors in their dominant 25-10 win in set one, and the momentum wouldn’t slow down in the next.
While Keuka came out more competitive in the second set when they jumped out to a 5-4 lead, Western Connecticut remained undeterred. They tacked on five unanswered points amid a communication struggle within the confines of Keuka, and would eventually pull away while working in a tighter defense to take the set 25-15, and go up 2-0. The third and final set saw Western Connecticut return to their roots, as they took a 5-1 lead early on. Keuka made a late push that cut the deficit to just one, but an unfortunate overshot called out-of-bounds came as the game-clinching point for Western Connecticut, and they took the set 26-24 to claim a sweep.
The Wolves’ would return to the hardwood at 6 p.m., but their night would soon be spoiled, as the home-squad Lakers swiftly took them down, 3-0. Even with the sweep, each set balanced a competitive feel, with Keuka refusing to go down easily. The first saw the two tie 11 separate times, but the Lakers pulled away in the late stages when the Wolves committed an error, followed by a killshot from Priscilla McReynolds, which would give a first-set statement victory to the Lakers.
Keuka committed a strong playstyle in the second set, which assisted them in going up 14-11 early. However, the Lakers would quickly storm back, as both Vugteveen and Kalley put forth kills, succeeded by two-straight service aces from Gabriella Bishop. The outing remained even from there, with both teams trading conversions past the net. Thankfully for the Lakers, their top beneficiary in McReynolds came through swinging for a kill to make it 25-24, which was followed up with an unfortunate error from the opposition, which would give the Lakers the game-clinching point, for them to go up 2-0.
The momentum saw a drastic shift towards the Lakers in the final set, as they would double down on a tyrannical offensive attack that had the Wolves running around on eggshells. A victory would be returned to the shorelines of Lake Ontario, as a commanding performance helped the Lakers to come out as victors, 25-14, and end the night with a record of 2-0.
The day concluded with a scrappy battle between Pitt-Bradford and SUNY Canton on court one, with the Panthers coming out as victors, 3-1. While the Kangaroos took the first set, 25-23, the Panthers roared back and completely dominated in the second, highlighted by a commanding performance from Ruby Smith that helped her squad tie it up at one. From there it was all Panthers, as they came through strongly with schemes that were tough to match up against. They took the third and fourth sets, 25-20, and 25-21, to finish out day one of the event.
The competition opens back up tomorrow, when the Lakers take on the Wolves of Western Connecticut at 10 a.m., followed by a plethora of matches that conclude the annual Oswego State Invite.
