The Oswego State women’s ice hockey team defeated top-ranked Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT), 2-1, at Ritter Arena in Rochester, N.Y., in a game that may just be the biggest win in program history.
RIT was previously undefeated and beat Oswego State the night before in a tight 3-1 game. Oswego State managed to score first and kept the score tied 1-1 for most of the game. The second game on Saturday was also close, but this time the Lakers had the edge.
The Lakers struck first and early, when junior forward Mackenzie Lee netted the first goal of the game at 2:13 of the first period. Freshman Olivia Boerson and junior captain Kathryn Sbrocchi assisted on the goal. The Lakers held the lead through the next two periods and added a second goal early in the third. Boerson scored the second goal unassisted for her second point of the game, putting the Lakers up by two.
RIT’s Katie Stack found the back of the net on the power play only two minutes after Oswego State’s goal. For the remainder of the third period, RIT challenged Oswego State senior goalie Emi Williams with 20 shots, but could not get one past her. RIT’s efforts to score failed and they lost their first game of the season on Senior Night.
Williams was a huge part of the win, making 46 saves during the game. However, team communication and confidence played a big part in the victory as well.
"Everybody had a good game," Williams said. "It’s not very often that you can say confidently that everyone in the locker room played their best."
"A lot of it was just keeping confidence in each other," Sbrocchi said. "Saying to everyone ‘look you guys are doing so good, all we have to do is keep talking to each other, moving people out of the front of the net.’ We just all had confidence in each other that we were all going to do our jobs."
Oswego State came into the game as heavy underdogs and beat a team that the second-place team, SUNY Plattsburgh, could only hold to two ties. For most of the girls on the team this win has been one of the best of their careers.
"Of all of the years I’ve played hockey, which is most of my life, this is probably one of the most memorable games I’ve ever played; It tops everything," Sbrocchi said.
"It was emotional," Williams said. "Everyone was crying and hugging. It’s probably the most memorable game of my career."
By beating RIT, Oswego State accomplished one of their goals from the beginning of the season, which was to beat one of the top three ranked teams.
"I kind of always have faith in those miracle moments and that one day it will go our way and it just happened to go our way," Sbrocchi said.
"I always hope, but I did not really believe it until the last five minutes," Williams said. "We always almost win, or barely lose, but this time somehow we pulled it off. "
