OSWEGO, N.Y. — Despite a great showing on Laker Turf Arena, the Lakers women’s lacrosse team couldn’t get the job done in their game against the Golden Flyers of Nazareth. The Golden Flyers were off to a wild star scoring the first three goals of the game. With three minutes left in the first, sophomore Julia Quirk and junior Sela Wiley both found success to narrow it down to a one goal deficit. The second quarter was back and forth action ultimately ending with the Golden Flyers taking a 6-5 lead at the half. It was a rough third quarter for the Lakers as the Golden Flyers scored six unanswered goals to bring the lead up to seven. The Lakers were not giving up just yet as they were able to score five more goals in a comeback attempt, ultimately losing by just four. The lead scorers for the Lakers were sophomore Julia Quirk with four goals and Junior Sela Wiley with three. The Lakers look to bounce back from this loss when they head to Lake Ontario Thursday to take on the Fredonia Blue Devils in a SUNYAC matchup. Game starts at 1:00!
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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.
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Oswego State Softball Falls to Fredonia to Wrap Up 2021 Season
OSWEGO, N.Y. — The Oswego State Softball team finished their 2021 season on Wednesday at Fredonia for a SUNYAC West doubleheader. The Lakers were swept by the Blue Devils by scores of 12-8 and 7-0, ending the season on a two game losing streak.
Game one started with two runs in the top of the first inning to open the game from the Lakers. Oswego would continue their offensive dominance by snagging five more runs by the middle of the 4th inning, lead by Taylor DuBois and Aleah Yaizzo. The two combined for 4 runs, 7 hits, and 6 RBIs. Fredonia would have an answer in the bottom of the inning with six runs to add to their two runs from the first two innings. The Blue Devils would continue to push on offense and grabbed four more runs by the end of the sixth inning. The Lakers were unable to bounce back after only snagging one run in the sixth inning. Madison Hoeflich would get tagged with the loss after yielding just four earned runs and striking out four Blue Devils.
Heading into game two, the Lakers looked to bounce back and get another split to end the 2021 campaign. The Blue Devils never let the Lakers see the light as the Fredonia squad was able to get a 7-0 shutout victory. Fredonia tallied 6 runs in the bottom of the third inning to take a big lead over the Lakers. There were no runs scored after that point in the contest, and Oswego’s Leah Czerwinski secured a double that was the lone hit from the Lakers. Hoeflich and Samantha Morgan split time on the mound, each securing three strikeouts over the course of their time pitching.
In terms of the SUNYAC Championship, Oswego was eliminated from contention a week ago but could have played spoiler as Fredonia now holds second place in the division with a 9-7 record. Buffalo State is the only team in the SUNYAC West who has clinched a playoff spot. Geneseo and Brockport can still catch Fredonia for the second and final spot as the two teams have a doubleheader against each other this week. Oswego will finish in last in the division with a 5-11 conference record and overall post a 8-14 record.
For Gabrielle Rivers, her first season as head coach had its ups and downs as the Lakers split doubleheaders six times and had a three game win streak during the middle of the season. Zoe Mennig lead the Lakers at the plate with a .423 average and 30 hits over the course of the season. Madelana Wrubel lead in the runs category, coming to home plate 16 times. Hoeflich lead the small pitching squad with a 2.48 ERA with five wins and five losses on the mound. The Lakers return 13 out of 16 players next season as the group looks to get back to the regular conference format.
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Oswego Men’s Hockey gets set for game against Geneseo
OSWEGO, NY — Men’s Hockey returns home after a successful trip to the North Country last weekend. The Laker’s wins over Potsdam and Plattsburgh secures the team in second place in the SUNYAC standings behind Geneseo, their competition Friday night. The Knights are currently ranked in third in the nation as the team holds a 15-3-2 record. Geneseo is coming off two wins in central New York as the team defeated Morrisville 6-0 and 8-3. However, Geneseo is only two points ahead of Oswego in the standings as the Lakers have played on less conference game than the Knights. This battle Friday is set to decide who will take the first seed heading into the playoffs. With Oswego not being ranked nationally, the Lakers only chance to make the NCAA tournament this season is through the conference’s automatic bid, in which the team must go through Geneseo to do so.
The last time these two teams met was back in November when the Lakers traveled to Geneseo for a Saturday night faceoff. However, the 1-9 loss was a major setback to the season as the team would go on a three game losing streak all against nationally ranked teams. But Oswego currently is on a three game win streak that has been on the back of new starting goalie Steven Kozikoski.
Friday Night’s game will be the first game of the second semester as students are back on campus. You can expect a packed Marano Campus Center as Oswego hasn’t beaten the Knights since the 2017-18 season. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. and coverage can be found on WTOP 10 and WNYO.
