The Oswego Men’s Soccer team picked up a 1-0 win over Utica College on Sunday, backed by a goal from freshman Ryan Young and a solid performance in net by sophomore Brian Terra, the latter of which became a frequent occurrence since the start of the season.
Terra recorded two saves in the win over Utica and has now compiled nine saves in four games this year.
Terra’s play has guided the Lakers to a 3-1 start and has provided the team with stability and balance in net. He has posted a save percentage of .692, and although it is still early in the season, it is a noticeable increase from the .667 that he recorded in 10 appearance last year.
His play has pleased a lot of people, but nobody more than Lakers’ head coach Dan Kane, who tabbed Terra as the starting goaltender before the team’s opener back on Aug. 31.
“He plays at a really high level in the summer, and [he got] a lot of good reps over the summer,” Kane said. “He’s got a lot of attributes that we like, in terms of being able to play with his feet, communication, distribution, taking balls out of the air, shot stopping.”
Terra echoed his coach’s sentiments when asked what put him ahead of the pack entering the season.
“[I] just worked hard, played a lot in the offseason, and just came in with a different mindset and attitude, just being more confident,” Terra said.
Terra’s confidence has seemed to spread throughout the entire team, whose players appear to be more unified in Kane’s second season at the helm.
“We all know what to expect from each other,” Kane said. “We have 10 new players, but the older guys are able to communicate messages to the younger guys that I had to communicate to everybody [last season]. Just having guys that know what we’re trying to do definitely adds to our team cohesion.”
The Lakers’ defense has also been a big help, as the team has allowed only 13 shots on goal this season. This averages to 3.25 per game, which puts them in a tie with Buffalo State for third in the SUNYAC in shots allowed per game. Notably, this also puts them ahead of conference rival and nationally-ranked SUNY Oneonta, who has allowed an average of 4.67 shots per game.
“The guys are really picking me up,” Terra said of his teammates. “I know if anything goes wrong, they’ll have my back and they’ll be there, so just having the team by my side really helps.”
After a disappointing finish to last season, the Lakers are off to a confident start and are looking to ride the wave all the way to the SUNYAC playoffs, for which they have not qualified since 2014, when they were ousted in the first round by The College at Brockport. If one’s were to look for the program’s most recent win in the SUNYAC postseason, that would take one all the way back to 2006, when the Lakers defeated the Golden Eagles 1-0 in the first round.
Despite the lack of success historically, the team has their sights set higher than recent teams in the program.
“Everyone here hopes to makes the SUNYAC [playoffs],” Terra said. “Just go far, keep winning games. This year we’re just focusing. All the games matter, and we’re not taking anything for granted.”
Kane noted that they just want to make the SUNYAC playoffs and will be “very disappointed” if they do not qualify.
“The SUNYAC is one of the best conferences, if not the best conference in the country for soccer, so it’s ultra-competitive,” Kane said. “I think we’ve scheduled better this year.”
If there is anything the team has learned from last season, it is to not take any game for granted.
Cole Parzych | The Oswegonian
