After a rough start to the season, the Oswego State Lakers field hockey team has found their groove. After dropping their first two games, they have bounced back with a four-game win streak, before losing to No. 20 William Smith on Oct. 3.
Winning four straight is not an easy task, but Oswego State’s streak was even more impressive since they have done it with just 16 players.
To put it in perspective, there are 11 players on the field at a time. The team has just four subs since they carry two goalies. Normally, teams have around 20 players on their roster with eight subs. A lot of the winning comes down to the great coaching Oswego State athletics has put in place.
This season is head coach Heather Moore’s first at Oswego State, but she is knowledgeable about field hockey. Moore was a four-year starter and two-time captain at Colgate University. Similarly, she coached at the U.S. Field Hockey Association in Binghamton, New York. Because of her coaching strategies and intellect, she has been able to manage this short roster to their victories.
“[Strategically] I’ve had to pay attention a little more closely to the players on the field and think a couple steps ahead,” Moore said. “If a player comes out, does it require a shift of others?”
During this four-game win streak, conditioning has played a huge role. Each game lasts 70 minutes, and since there are only four subs to use, nearly every starter plays all 70. Aside from the conditioning of the entire team, the Lakers rely on several integral upperclassmen.
Senior goalie Sarita Charap has been vital to the team’s success. This season, she has played every minute of every game and has faced a huge number of shots, 111.
Charap stole the first win of the season for Oswego as she made 22 saves off of 26 Elmira College shots. Her teammates’ offense was limited in the game, producing 10 shots. Fortunately for the Lakers, they scored on half of those, winning the game narrowly 5-4.
After the rough start, Charap has found her form with a formidable save percentage of .833 during the winning streak. With Charap steady on the backend, junior forward Katie Reynolds has been able to create some offense.
This season, Reynolds has 16 points in seven games to lead the Lakers and has played a vital role in three of the team’s wins, scoring at least three points in each game. In the other victory at Wells College, she still made her presence felt with a strong performance.
Reynolds attributed a big part of her success to her teammates.
“The team definitely pushes the ball up there for me,” Reynolds said. “We need to just shoot the ball rather than play with it in the circle.”
The team has been outshot in every loss by as much as 25 and has mustered up a season-low of four shots on goal three times. With SUNYAC competition beginning this weekend, it is imperative for the team to dominate the ball in order to limit the pressure on the defense.
“We aren’t a team that can run up and down the field since we only have four subs,” senior midfielder Monica Harvey said. “So, we need to maintain possession.”
With several tough matchups remaining, the Lakers look to continue to dominate the ball like they did in their four wins.
Although the team lost to William Smith College, Harvey sees plenty of positives coming out of that game and into SUNYAC play starting this weekend.
“It was a good game to play because they are a really good team,” Harvey said. “I think we played up to their level and played really well [even if the score] doesn’t show it.”
The Lakers’ next game is this Saturday at the College at Brockport, and the team anticipates another strong performance with another win to come closer to their first winning season since 1985.
Photo: Jake Piacenti | The Oswegonian
