The Oswego State men’s lacrosse team split its last two games, defeating Utica College 15-8 on March 28 and falling 11-9 on April 1 against Clarkson University, both non-conference games.

Against Utica, the Lakers jumped out to a comfortable 9-1 lead by the end of the first period that they would never relinquish.

Six different Lakers scored in the first frame, with junior Torry Whitcher tallying two goals and junior Cody Hoose recording an early hat trick just 11:10 into the game.

Utica started the second quarter with hopes of making a comeback and started to rally. The Pioneers scored four goals in the quarter with Christian Reiller having points on three (two goals and one assist). The game was 9-5 at the break, eluding to a competitive second half.

The Lakers stifled any hope of a Utica rally with a strong push to start the period, scoring three quick goals to regain their cushion. Whitcher scored the first goal of the half just nine seconds into the period, completing his hat trick.

Sophomore Jimmy Cordon recorded the second of the half and his second of the game while junior Connor Khammar finished the Lakers scoring for the period with a shot from the mid-right.

The shot beat Utica goaltender Cory Spisak on low-stick side. Backup goalie Andrew DiOrio then entered the game for the Pioneers.

The Lakers held Utica scoreless for the third quarter, ending the quarter with a 12-5 lead. Both teams recorded three goals in the final quarter.

The Lakers ended the game leading in every statistical category with an important lead in groundballs.

Freshman goaltender Wyatt Russo recorded the Lakers victory with eight goals allowed and 16 saves.

Hoose and Whitcher lead the team in scoring, with four and three goals, respectively. Khammar, junior Nick Giampaolo and Cordon all recorded two goals, with sophomore DJ Sellick and junior Kyle Wistner each recording one.

The Lakers played a closer game at home against Clarkson University on April 1.

Cordon scored just 1:14 into the game, giving Oswego State the early lead and some momentum moving forward. The Golden Knights, however, quickly took control of the 1st frame and responded with three even-strength goals, two coming from Matthew Gold.

Clarkson scored again in the 3rd minute of the second period to go up 4-1. Giampaolo answered quickly, however, less than a minute later, scoring his first of four goals in the game.

Clarkson and Oswego State went goal-for-goal two more times in the period, giving the Golden Knights a 6-4 lead at the half.

The third period proved to be the highest-scoring quarter of the game. Clarkson scored the first two of the period, but a quick response from Oswego State kept the game within reach. The Golden Knights scored again with 3:26 left in the quarter to increase its lead 9-5.

The Lakers started to mount a comeback in the final three minutes of the game. Giampaolo notched his third goal of the game just 11 seconds after the Clarkson goal, with Hoose scoring just seven seconds later from a face-off win and fast break from sophomore Troy Crevier.

Giampaolo recorded his sixth goal of the game with just six seconds left in the third quarter, setting up the fourth quarter with the score 9-8 in favor of Clarkson.

Oswego State’s Cody Hoose scored quickly to start the fourth quarter, tying the game at 9-9.

Both teams were equally matched for the next four minutes of the play. However, Clarkson broke the tie with 8:49 remaining on the clock and added another goal just 24 seconds later to bring the score to 11-9 in favor of the Golden Knights.

The Lakers battled hard for the remainder of the game, generating many chances and shots. However, no Laker attempts beat Clarkson goalie Harrison Washuta during the last eight minutes of the match as Clarkson secured the win.

Washuta ended the game with five goals against and seven saves, while Russo finished the game with 11 goals against and 17 saves.

“Russo played on his head today but our clearing held us back, I think we were only 13 for 20,” Laker senior captain Brian Murphy said. “That’s definitely the next part of our game that we need to work on against Brockport on Friday.”

Giampaolo led the Lakers in scoring with four goals on nine shots. Cody Hoose and Cordon each tallied two in the contest, while Brady Hoose notched his eighth goal of the season.

The Lakers’ next game is scheduled for Friday afternoon at 4 p.m. at home against The College at Brockport in the team’s first SUNYAC test of the season. The Lakers currently hold a 4-3 record and will be looking to continue to improve as the season progresses.

“We’re just focused to improve on what we need to as we go into SUNYAC league play,” Murphy said.