SUNY Cortland transfer Rachael Farmer has already made an impact for her new team. The junior goaltender made her debut against Buffalo State this weekend and notched two shutout wins in back-to-back games. Those shutouts earned her NEWHL Goalie of the Week and Oswego State Female Athlete of the Week.

“I was a little nervous going into the game, but I was excited to come through for my team,” Farmer said. “They were some great team wins. Everyone put forth a lot of effort to come out on top.”

After posting 26 saves and a shutout on Friday, Farmer led the Lakers to a 2-0 road victory. But she was not stopping there. On Saturday night, Farmer, once again, stood tall. She stopped 34 shots this time, and the Lakers pulled out a 1-0 win with a late third-period goal. Farmer’s efforts were noticed by Oswego State head coach Diane Dillon.

“She came up big for us when we needed her,” Dillon said. “Buffalo State is always a good game. There’s always a lot on the line.”

After cruising to their opening two wins, Buffalo State presented a new challenge. The Lakers were unable to score until the third period of both games, and the play in front of Farmer was sometimes hectic.

“We had times where we had a pretty chaotic defensive zone, and Rachael fought, came up big with a couple huge saves,” Dillon said. “With her experience in the league playing for Cortland and now us, we knew she’d be ready to go.”

That experience with fellow NEWHL opponent SUNY Cortland is sure to help Farmer this year. In her time with the Red Dragons, Farmer stopped 90.2 percent of shots and had a 2.90 goals against average. These numbers are even more impressive looking at the team that was around her. SUNY Cortland only scored 1.62 goals per game during Farmer’s time there. Even though Oswego State got the best of SUNY Cortland all four times last season, Dillon remembers how tough it was to score on Farmer.

“She’s a competitor. She competes hard,” Dillon said. “She always caused fits for us when we played against her.”

This weekend presents the first time Farmer will go against her former team and teammates. The Lakers will take on the Red Dragons Friday at the Marano Campus Center Ice Arena. Then it is off to SUNY Cortland for a game on Saturday. But Farmer seems up to the challenge.

“I’m excited to play them,” Farmer said. “It should be a really good battle between the two teams.”

Adjusting to college is hard enough, and Farmer has now had to do it twice. She has handled the transition well, with some help from her teammates, of course.

“She’s a pain in the butt to her teammates. She’s fit right into the team pretty quickly,” Dillon said. “She’s a lot of fun, and as a matter of fact, the girls always pick on her, so that’s always a good sign, right?”

Farmer has also felt right at home at Oswego State, both in the locker room and the classroom.

“It’s actually been pretty easy,” Famer said. “I love it here. I fit in really well with the team. I like the coaches. It’s been really fun and exciting to be on a new team.”

Dillon also recognized the toughness Farmer showed in making her decision. As a student-athlete, the decision is that much tougher. It is changing not only hockey teams, but academic programs as well.

“She’s a very good student and serious about what she wants to do here. Anytime someone decides to leave a college and go to another, that’s a major decision,” Dillon said. “It takes a lot of courage, and she showed me a lot of fortitude.”

For Farmer, that decision had to be made in both aspects.

“I felt it would be a better fit academically and I felt I’d be a little better off and have a lot more fun,” Farmer said.

Farmer has certainly begun her career on the right foot. The Lakers are 4-0-0 for the second time in school history, and Farmer was a big reason for two of those wins. The future for Farmer, and the Lakers, looks pretty bright.

“This is a young woman that’s serious about what she wants, and wants the last two years of her hockey career to be more than what she had before,” Dillon said. “I think she’s taking her future into her own hands.”

Maria Pericozzi | The Oswegonian