The Oswego State field hockey team has started with the same record as its 2017 campaign. With seven games played, the team is now 4-3.

However, now that the team is in the conference portion of its schedule, the Lakers are 1-1 this season in conference, compared to their 2-0 SUNYAC start in the same amount of games last season. But after a 4-3 win against The College at Brockport on Sept. 22, confidence is high with head coach Heather Moore.

“It propels us forward. Coming out and being competitive right off the bat is always a good thing,” Moore said. “I think getting that taste of winning early on in SUNYAC play is important.”
   

A big headline out of that game was senior Katie Reynolds’ four-goal game. She is now tied for first, both goals in a game in program history, as well as points in a game with eight.

She now leads the team and the SUNYAC in goals (10) and points (22). The Pawling native had 24 total points last season.

“I have a drive to push myself because I want to beat myself from last [season],” Reynolds said. “My biggest competitor is myself moving forward.”

Her performance led to her selection as offensive player of the week for field hockey in the SUNYAC. Reynolds also had a two-goal game in the loss against Nazareth College on Sept. 18.

“It’s different with every team,” Reynolds said. “I know I can find the back of the cage if I push myself like I did with Brockport. So it’s just that same mentality.”

The Lakers lost to SUNY Cortland on Sept. 26 by a score of 3-0. The Red Dragons were ranked No. 20 in NCAA Div. III, but fell out of the top 20 in the last week. But now, Oswego State has to prepare for teams like SUNY Geneseo and SUNY New Paltz – both teams the Lakers lost to last season.

“The focus needs to be back on ourselves,” Moore said. “I think if we can focus on being as competitive as possible, then it will help us out.”

Senior midfielder Lacey Woite has been a major contributor for the team with passing and leads the team in assists with six. She has also been a key player defensively, something she said she hopes to keep doing throughout the rest of the season.

“Passing is a big part of the game. You have to pass all the way down the field,” Woite said. “I just want to contribute as much as I can throughout the entire midfield and even in our defensive circle  as well.”

At the beginning of the season, Moore said she was not too sure about what she was going to get out of her defensive side of the field. There are 11 freshmen on the team, eight of which are labeled as midfielders or defensive players.

Now, she is pleased with how that class, as well as the rest of the team’s defense, has been able to “retool” and communicate effectively even without the senior defender the Lakers lost due to an injury. Moore said that the defense really stepped up during the game against The College at Brockport.

“A lot of our girls are underrated because we have freshman and other girls playing the entire game, and they’re not getting the recognition because they’re not getting the stats,” Woite said. “But we have a lot of talent in the midfield.”

Oswego State has been able to get a feel for the SUNYAC waters after the two games against the Golden Eagles and the Red Dragons. Now, the team has four SUNYAC games remaining in the regular season. With the 1-1 conference record after losing to SUNY Cortland, the Lakers need to win two more games in the SUNYAC. Moore said that three wins, which would be a .500 conference record, qualifies any team for the playoffs.

“I think continuing to see improvement every single time during practices and games [is the goal],” Moore said. “I think we can win the ones we won last year and then go compete against the other teams that have been pretty big names in the SUNYAC.”

For the team’s mindset, Woite said that the focus is to remember that no team is going to go easy on the Lakers, especially conference rivals. The team also has to “go out as hard as the other teams” and hopes to get to the back of the goal cage first.

“I know once we played against [Nazareth College], we realized that we can’t take things for granted,” Reynolds said. “Teams are getting better, so we need to be in the same state. Our only mindset is getting wins and scoring goals.”

Moore agreed with the idea of getting the wins from the philosophy of a coach, but she also emphasized focusing on the little things during a game, such as key passes, getting to the ball first and so on.

“As a coach, I just want to win,” Moore said. “I think anytime you’re able to do that, it’s fun and it propels you forward, and you want more of that.”

Photo by Maria Pericozzi | The Oswegonian