The 2017 Oswego State field hockey regular season is coming to an end, with three games left. It is an emotional point in the season, where the Lakers will celebrate their senior day on Oct. 21.

Celebrating the five seniors is not the only thing the team will be doing this weekend. The Lakers will be trying to secure a spot in the SUNYAC Championships, as well as complete the first winning season in over three decades.

The team will be facing SUNY Oneonta and SUNY New Paltz to round out their regular season conference matchups. The Red Dragons are 12-2, and the Hawks are 4-9.

“We just played Hartwick, so that was a good kind of tune-up game,” head coach Heather Moore said. “It gave us a good idea of what we really needed to work on.”

With a 2-2 conference record, the Lakers only need to win one of the two games to land a spot in the SUNYAC playoffs. According to Moore, the team will be focusing on New Paltz heavily, since that is their nearest game.

This year, however, the seniors had to adjust to more than just their new leadership roles. After spending three seasons with former head coach Brandi Lusk, the team hired Moore as their first full-time head coach.

“I think it went OK. It’s always hard to kind of gauge where we are now,” Moore said. “I think I made the transition OK, and I think they made the transition OK.”

With general consensus from a majority of the senior class, they were fine with the adjustment from Lusk to Moore. Senior goaltender Sarita Charap even called it a “seamless” transition.

“I was nervous because you get comfortable with the coach for three years,” senior Monica Harvey said. “But, I was excited to come in and see what kind of plans she had to change things up this year.”

This team also has the chance to complete its first winning season since 1984. The team went 13-5 under head coach Shirley Hodge, who led the Lakers from 1969-1990. The Lakers would have to win at least two of their last three games to complete the winning season.

“We’re definitely aiming to [have a winning season],” senior Emily Brockwell said. “We had a great beginning to the season last year and made some history there, so we want to leave a legacy.”

Last year, the Lakers went on a six-game win streak at the beginning of the season. They ended up finishing at 7-8. Brockwell said that was her favorite moment as a Laker over the past four years.

Within those six games, Oswego State was victorious in a two-overtime victory over Elmira College. Harvey had both goals in the 2-1 victory, which she says was her favorite memory as a Laker. But this year, she has seen more assists than goals.

As the center midfielder this season, she has been tasked with pushing the ball into the offensive zone rather than scoring. While she has two goals on the season, compared to her seven last year, she has five assists this year.

“Being the center-mid, that’s kind of my job, to be able to pass it up from the defense to the forwards, and their job is to get it in the goal,” Harvey said. “I think last year I had more of an offensive forward mindset.”

Charap has also had her fair share of success in her four-year career. With numerous individual awards, including the 2014 SUNYAC Rookie of the Year, she is still turning heads. She currently has 123 saves on the season, most recently having 17 saves in the 3-0 loss against Hartwick College on Oct. 17.

“I think she plays with passion. She goes after every single ball she can,” Moore said. “She really tries to lead from the back and be vocal and get everyone invested in the game.”

With their first back-to-back games of the season on Oct. 20 and Oct. 21, the Lakers will push to make the SUNYAC Championships and come away with their first winning season since 1984. The road of opportunity begins on Oct. 20 against SUNY New Paltz at 4 p.m. at Laker Turf Stadium.

Photo: Jake Piacenti | The Oswegonian