After a monumental collapse down the stretch where the team went 1-7 overall and 1-4 in the SUNYAC, Oswego State field hockey will have to put their playoff hopes on hold for another season.

With a four-game losing streak to their name, the Lakers made the long trip down to Oneonta to take on the Red Dragons. With playoffs on the line, the Lakers were able to strike first thanks to another goal from junior Monica Harvey in her brilliant 2016 season. The lead did not last long though. SUNY Oneonta’s Casey Stata put one past Sarita Charap nearly seven minutes later.

The Lakers were flat the rest of the game and were only able to muster up one shot during the second half. Charap was peppered all game and made 18 saves by the time the Lakers were knocked out of playoff contention. Oswego State lost in overtime when Sierra Palmatier put home a penalty stroke to secure the Red Dragons a spot in the playoffs. Meanwhile, the Lakers’ long playoff drought continues for another year.

SUNY Oneonta’s Cassandra Miller only had to make four saves all game. Just four. Let that sink in for a minute.

For a team that scored 18 goals in their first six games to only be able to get five shots on net in the biggest game of the year is nothing short of a disappointment. In fact, the Lakers were only able to score six goals for the remainder of their regular season schedule.

This team had all of Oswego State’s fall sports attention early on, but the hype surrounding them just vanished. A .500 finish was almost unimaginable after their 6-0 start to the season.

The Lakers were able to beat their first two SUNYAC opponents, Morrisville State(0-6) and the College at Brockport(1-5), but failed to beat any team that finished above them in the standings. Losses to currently ranked No. 19 William Smith College and SUNYAC powerhouse SUNY Cortland, who received 29 votes in the last NCAA Div. III field hockey rankings, may have been what derailed the Lakers’ confidence and momentum.  These loses put in perspective where the Lakers really are in the Div. III field hockey spectrum.

The team’s end of the season performance also shined a light on how easy their early season schedule really was. No team the Lakers beat this year finished above .500. SUNY Oneonta was the only team they failed to beat that had a sub .500 overall record.

In late September, head coach Brandi Lusk said the Lakers’ only problem would be if they got complacent. Was this the case or did their early offensive production dry up due to superior competition?

With Lusk set to step down as the Oswego State field hockey and women’s lacrosse coach, whoever inherits this job will be in good hands with star underclassmen like Katie Reynolds, Kendra Walker and Lacey Woite, all poised to improve upon fantastic 2016 campaigns. Despite the team failing to reach the SUNYAC Championships again, the future does look bright for the underclassmen in the program and they should be optimistic.