Four matches are in the books this year for Oswego State women’s soccer.
All four of these contests have been close, high-spirited affairs that have gone down to the wire.
The Lakers currently sit at 2-1-1 on the year with wins over DeSales, Alfred Universities. Each of these games were decided by one goal, besides the 1-1 draw with Baldwin Wallace.
The victories over Desales and Alfred seem to be the biggest stepping stones for head coach Brian McGrane and his team in the early portion of the 2016 season. Desales was good enough to earn a bid in the Div. III NCAA Tournament last season, and despite a 1-15-2 overall record from Alfred in 2015, they got out to a hot 4-0 start before losing to Oswego State on Tuesday night.
One takeaway from the season thus far has to be the ability of the Lakers to play in close games and come away with points.
DeSales was able to storm back and tie the match at two-all late in regulation, only to see Sarah Grupp score a header off a late-game corner, giving Oswego State their first victory of the season.
Oswego State was also able to salvage a draw in the Fredonia Tournament after Jacquelyn Brown scored in the 88th minute of regulation to put the Lakers down 1-0. Just over a minute later however, Alexa Restante was able to tie it with a cross to the right side of the net and the match would end in a draw after two overtimes.
Head coach Brian McGrane was then able to help steer the Lakers back into the win column on Tuesday against the Alfred University Saxons. The Lakers were able to create chances but couldn’t bury anything until the 74th minute when Emma Geyer scored her first goal of the year.
Their 2-0 victory over the Saxons didn’t come all that easy for the Lakers, but they beat a team that they should have. These were the types of the games that McGrane’s team couldn’t always grab two points in 2015.
The strong sophomore class, although consisting of only three players, seems to blend well with the junior and senior classes that lead the Lakers. Senior Mary Morrison and sophomore Chloe Lonergan, both defenders, earned All-Tournament Team honors after a 1-0-1 performance during the Fredonia Tournament.
Offensively the Lakers are playing well, registering almost double the shots per game of their opponents. Oswego State currently sits at 15.8 shots per game to just 8.0 for their first four opponents.
This is all backed by Melissa Seigfried in goal. The senior keeper has helped backstop the Lakers making 72 saves with a 1.42 goals against average. Her five career clean-sheets are only one shy for her to crack the top 10 in Oswego State women’s soccer history.
After the team’s first-ever SUNYAC playoff victory in 2015 over No. 3 seed SUNY Geneseo, the Lakers are starting to look like they could make another playoff run in the SUNYAC.
The early season success against non-conference teams has to have the Lakers feeling good as they prepare for a 4 p.m. match against Clarkson University on Friday.
