Oswego State Lakers field hockey has been cruising heading into SUNYAC play. Their 7-2 record has them very optimistic for overall success this season, despite a 7-0 shutout loss they suffered to SUNY Cortland Oct. 12.

Consistent offensive production is going to be key for the team going against conference opponents, but the uprising underclassmen have given them the depth to do so.

Lacey Woite, Katie Reynolds and Kendra Walker have impressed on offense so far and they are well aware of their importance to the team and offense specifically.

Woite, a sophomore, has been developing into a star forward for the Lakers, with a team-leading five goals, and 11 points. Two of her goals led the Lakers to victory over the Brockport Golden Eagles last week in a tight 3-2 win.

“Coming in as a freshman is way more difficult, I don’t even feel like an underclassmen as a sophomore,” Woite said. “Freshman [year] is pretty much the adjustment year and it seems to fit in once you get older than that.”

Reynolds and Walker have been key contributors to the offense as well, doing their best to succeed in their roles on the team.

Reynolds, a sophomore transfer in her first year with the Lakers, has nine points on the season, with three goals and three assists. Her best performance came in a 4-1 victory over Wells College, where she scored a goal and notched two assists.

“Katie has done a great job picking up 50-50 balls for us,” Lakers head coach Brandi Lusk said.

Walker, a freshman, has gotten her opportunities off the bench. She has two goals and four points on the season. Her first collegiate goal served as the game-winner in a 1-0 win over Nazareth College.

Being a freshman is an adjustment, but she credits how supportive the upperclassmen and Lusk have been with her as a first year player on the team.

“The upperclassmen are really supporting of us coming in,” Walker said. “We do a lot of team bonding, our team chemistry is a huge part of why we work so well together this year.”

Lusk is very proud of what the underclassmen have been able to do for the team and the hope is for them to continue to strengthen a program that has struggled for years. This organizational depth is shaping up to keep the Lakers competitive in the future if these underclassmen can make the next step as field hockey players.

“They came in confident and ready to go,” Lusk said. “Any areas that they were lacking confidence the upperclass has done a great job communicating with them pushing them along and helping them out.”

Lusk is looking for this team to be successful in SUNYAC play this year and end their winning season drought that dates back to 1985. Their goal is to make the SUNYAC playoffs, but she emphasizes that the focus on the individual games.

“The [SUNYAC] is strong, and I think our team is proving that we deserve to be top four in the conference,” Lusk said. “As long as they’re willing to keep working at it we can keep chipping away.”

The focus may be set on the current season, but the young underclassmen still are very excited for what the future holds and how much they can accomplish down the road.

“They need to continue that line of communication,” Lusk said. “We’re only as good as our freshman and young transfers want to be.”

Lakers field hockey is well-balanced with young talent and experienced upperclassmen. They will face tougher challenges down the road and are looking to bounce back from the 7-0 loss to SUNY Cortland.

Each game will be a learning experience for these young forwards, especially in highly-anticipated conference matchups, as they fight to help their team compete for a SUNYAC playoff position.

The Lakers are in action again at Laker Turf Stadium on Saturday when they take on SUNY Geneseo at 1:00 p.m.