The Oswego State men’s lacrosse team made program history but fell short of its expectations for the 2018-2019 season, after losing to SUNY Cortland in the SUNYAC Championships on Wednesday, May 1.
After making it to the SUNYAC playoffs in 2018 for the first time since the 2009 season, they became the first team in program history to make back-to-back postseason appearances. This season, despite a lower overall record of 8-6, the Lakers matched the .500 conference record after defeating SUNY Oneonta in the final regular season game.
“It was a playoff game. That’s how we thought of it and that’s how the game went,” sophomore goaltender Kevin O’Donnell said.
The game also determined who would make the SUNYAC Championships: SUNY Oneonta or Oswego State, who both entered the game with a 2-3 conference record.
“We basically explained to them, and everybody understood, that last Saturday was a playoff game for us,” Bezek said. “For us to continue play and be able [to work] together as a group, last Saturday was crucial.”
During the game, Oswego State jumped out to an early 3-0 lead, with the first goal coming less than three minutes into the first quarter. After a Red Dragon goal got them on the board, Oswego State went on another five-goal run and another four-goal streak.
All this season, O’Donnell said the team did not do a good job of “burying” teams once the team has a lead. He also said keeping the offensive pressure against SUNY Oneonta was a big key to the game.
“We took a lead early and kept pushing our foot down,” junior Evan Hollfelder said. “Normally, we let them hang around too long and then it gets sketchy.”
While the mindset was different for the team, Bezek said the team “focused and … bought well into the game plan.”
“I think we were pretty efficient with the game plan that we had going in, and I think that’s what helped us with our quick start and being able to continue to progress throughout the game,” Bezek said.
In practices before the game against SUNY Cortland, both Hollfelder and O’Donnell said practices focused more on the basics of lacrosse, rather than “the weaves” used for different plays. Before the SUNY Cortland game, Bezek said the team wanted to “throw the whole kitchen sink” at it.
“It [was] more focused on certain aspects,” Hollfelder said. “[We] focused on six-on-six and clearing.”
Another key to practice was focusing on the other team.
“It [was] more about knowing the scouting of the other team and making sure we [knew] what their tendencies [were], especially a team that we’ve already played,” O’Donnell said.
Against SUNY Cortland, the game was tied at halftime with five goals each. The Lakers limited SUNY Cortland to only one goal in the first quarter, with only two minutes left in the quarter. During the game, Oswego State jumped out to an early four-goal lead but could not match the Red Dragons’ offense in the second half when they scored four goals in both quarters.
“Putting together an offensive and defensive full game [was an issue],” Hollfelder said. “Not just a half here and a half there.”
With the loss, the Lakers’ season ended in the same exact way the 2017-2018 season ended: a loss in the SUNYAC semifinals against No. 1 SUNY Cortland in Cortland after squeaking into the playoffs as the No. 4 seed.
O’Donnell and Hollfelder will both be back for their second and third seasons with Oswego State, respectively. O’Donnell will likely be the starting goaltender for the third season in a row, after starting and playing all 14 games this season. Hollfelder will try to stay atop the points leaderboard for the Lakers, after leading the team with 46 points and a team-leading 36 assists.
Either way, all sights for the team will be set on making another stride in the SUNYACs next season.
“Moving the program in a different direction than where it’s been in the past is something that we’re really paying attention to,” O’Donnell said. “We’re the first Oswego team to make SUNYACs two years in a row. It is taking a step in the right direction, but I think we’re better than one game at a time.”
Photo by:Alexis Fragapane | The Oswegonian
