When a man goes down, the next one steps up. This mentality describes the goalkeeping core of the Oswego State Lakers men’s soccer team.

After starting goalkeeper Jon Runge suffered a right shoulder injury, all eyes looked toward coach Bob Friske to find out who would be in net for the next match. Having three goalies on the roster, the two backups both being first year players with similar abilities, the pressure began to mount on Friske to make a decision.

“Both Evan Bogucki and Alex Duca are playing great, I have three really good goalies,” Friske said.

The decision became clear when Bogucki took the pitch against Hamilton where he obtained a clean-sheet victory in the first match of his career.

“I love all the goalies and respect them all but yeah, Evan is playing great so far,” Friske said.

The following two matches were much different for the Lakers. They were outscored 5-0 in two matches against two very tough opponents, Franklin & Marshall and Messiah College.

Oswego State is moving forward with a 2-3 record and has some questions about who they are as a team. They are looking to recover from a tough weekend on the road, but not knowing who the goalkeeper will be day in and day out creates some questions in the locker room.

“All three of them are always competing for a starting position, so anything is possible,” Friske said.

The competition between the keepers is growing, but the bond between the three is only growing stronger. With Runge going down, there is improvement from both Duca and Bogucki.

“The three of us get along really well, there is no doubt it’s friendly competition, only one can come out starting and we all know where we stand,” Duca said.

Runge, having been sidelined for three games, is now looking to make it back to the pitch as soon as possible.

According to Runge there is no diagnosis on his injury other than some shoulder discomfort. In practice he seems to be healthy when he runs and kicks the ball. But the injury is exposed when he attempts to throw the ball and diving to make saves is not in his best interest.

“It’s getting better every day, he is a tough kid too, he’ll be back shortly,” Friske said.

Friske and his training staff are holding a positive outlook going forward. The team hopes to get one of their most vocal leaders back as they approach the mid-season.

Runge is taking the approach of feeling out his injury day by day, hoping for improvement. The goalkeeper has been waiting for his senior season ever since he lost his starting position during his freshman year. Runge stuck with the program and learned behind now alumni Todd Lawson.

As the team moves forward and the goalie position continues to be the question, it is an equal shot for each Laker.

“I would give a kid a whole game, not just half a game and split the other half with the other goalie,” Friske said. “You want your other goalies to have some consistency.”

Consistency has not been the case for the Lakers this season as they have yet to win back-to-back matches.

Bogucki’s first pair of performances are a fitting example of this. In his first match he held a clean-sheet while facing six shots on goal, but his debut performance was offset by two powerhouse Div. III schools on Friday and Saturday as he let in five goals while only facing 17 shots on net.

“Both Evan and Alex are doing phenomenal having taken a year off,” Friske said. “Evan took a year off from playing, the kid needed a year after playing 12 years or so and it’s great to have him here.”

Bogucki’s impact has been a bright spot on this team, not just in the games but at practice too. Fellow teammates are thoroughly impressed by his foot skills while being able to maintain his goalkeeping ability.

Friske loves what he has on this roster and clearly has the confidence to play any one of his guys moving forward. It still seems to be most likely that Runge will be the starter once he is healthy since he is now in his fourth season as a Laker. Also, he is the only returning goalie as Bogucki and Duca are both fresh faces to this year’s roster. 

“All the guys I want to try to give some time to so they can have some experience under their belt just in case one of them goes down that they all have experience,” Friske said. “I have confidence in them all though.”

As the goalkeeper battle flares on and Runge continues to heal day by day, the Lakers look to continue their march to make the SUNYAC playoffs.