The Oswego State women’s soccer team looks to get back on the right track this season when they begin the Oswego State Tournament on Friday.
After winning their first four games and starting the year 6-1, the Lakers find themselves on a three game slide that has dropped their record to 6-4.
Megan Russell has been dominant for the Lakers as she leads the team with 110 points for the season, more than 30 points above the second leading scorer on the team.
Kelsey Dillon, Ariel Murawski and Jessica Long have also contributed to the Lakers’ early season success, each of which have point totals in the mid-70s.
Oswego last played last weekend in the University of Rochester Invitational where they went 1-3. They won their first game of the invitational against Hamilton, but then went on lose the next three games to Houghton, St. John Fisher and University of Rochester.
In this upcoming tournament, the Lakers will also play four games, doubleheaders on both Friday and Saturday.
On Friday, Oswego will have its first game against Utica at 4:00 p.m. and then right after that they will be playing D’Youville.
Then on Saturday, the Lakers have an early 10:00 a.m. game against Hartwick and conclude the tournament against SUNY Canton in the afternoon.
Oswego only played each of these teams once last year. They defeated Hartwick in the Hartwick Invitational, three matches to one, and lost to SUNY Canton in the Geneseo Tournament, three matches to one.
Utica, D’Youville and Hartwick all find themselves struggling early this season as none of the three teams have more than two wins on the season.
With records of 2-7, 1-7, and 2-8, respectively, the Lakers are heavy favorites and should be able to capitalize on teams worse than them.
SUNY Canton is a completely different story. The Kangaroos have more wins than the other three opponents combined.
Canton has an 8-1 record on the year and when they have won, they’ve done it in dominating fashion. In their eight wins this season, the Kangaroos have swept the first three matches seven times and their only loss came in their last game to nationally ranked Clarkson University.
Morgan Bills and Kelsey Cornish have been great for the Kangaroos, the top two scorers on the team, and deserve the most credit for their impressive record.
All these teams do have one thing in common, none of them have won a game on the road so far this season.
Both D’Youville and Hartwick are winless on the road with 0-2 records, while SUNY Canton and Utica have yet to play a road game.
All four of these teams will have the disadvantage of being on the road, playing in Max Ziel Gymnasium, home of the Lakers, and playing against a good Oswego women’s volleyball team when the tournament gets underway this Friday.
