The Oswego State women’s lacrosse team fell to The College at Brockport, 23-11, on Saturday, a day in which the Lakers honored the six seniors on the team.
The Golden Eagles (8-3, 4-2 SUNYAC) struck first in the fourth minute of the game, as senior midfielder Karen Bianchi got the ball past senior goalie and captain Nicole Nalle.
Oswego State (3-7, 0-5 SUNYAC) answered back less than a minute later with a goal from senior attacker Rachael Raffa. The goal was Raffa’s 40th on the season.
The teams went back-and-forth for the following 10 minutes, but then Brockport began to pull away with 15 minutes remaining in the half. With the score tied at three, the Golden Eagles rattled off five unanswered goals to take the lead they would not relinquish.
“We were definitely able to hang with them in the first half,” senior attacker and team captain Erin Cummings said. “We made a lot of crucial errors on our own, and it ended up costing us the game.”
Brockport went into halftime holding an 11-4 advantage over the Lakers.
The Golden Eagles started the second half the same way they began the first, scoring three and a half minutes into the half on Bianchi’s second goal of the game.
The Lakers responded with back-to-back goals from Cummings and Raffa, but they were unable to spark a rally.
Brockport continued a steady scoring pace throughout the rest of the game, as the team did not go more than five and a half minutes between goals. The Golden Eagles scored their final goal with 34 seconds remaining in the game, which gave them their largest lead of the day at 23-11.
“Overall, they’re a great team,” Cummings said. “I think in the second half it showed that we were unable to keep up.”
Raffa tied for the game-high with five goals for the Lakers. Cummings contributed three goals, as well as a team-high two assists.
“Personally, I think I was able to have a better game than I have in the past,” Cummings said.
Junior midfielder Emily Zartman tallied five goals for Brockport along with three assists. Junior attacker Sarah Brown added four goals and a game-high five assists in the winning effort.
Before the game, Raffa, Cummings, Nalle and fellow seniors Kelly Collins, Liz Conrad and Michelle Stepien were honored during the Senior Day ceremony. The six players along with members of their families took the field as teammates and fans applauded them for their service on the team.
“It’s bittersweet because I’ve grown up with those girls, my fellow seniors,” Cummings said. “To play with them the past three years really means a lot because I’ve shared so much with them.”
Cummings said her time with the women’s lacrosse team has helped her grow personally.
“Looking back, I would have done the same exact thing again,” she said. “Having been able to be captain of the team for the past two years, these will be the best memories I have of college.
Oswego State has four games remaining after Thursday’s game against Medaille College was cancelled due to Medaille needing to make up a previously postponed conference game.
Cummings said the team will need to improve on certain aspects in order to be successful in closing out the season.
“We need to work on communicating in the midfield and transitioning the ball from our defense to our attack,” she said. “We make a lot of errors on our own that make it hard for us to win games.”
The Lakers will travel to SUNY Oneonta for a game at noon on Saturday before heading to SUNY Geneseo for a 4 p.m. game on Tuesday. Oswego State will return for its final home game of the season on Thursday to take on SUNY Canton.
