The Oswego State women’s soccer team narrowly missed out on a SUNYAC playoff berth in 2018. Last season, it was tough for the Lakers to score. This season, the message is pretty clear. Oswego State needs to capitalize on their offensive opportunities.
“We’ve got to finish,” Lakers head coach Brian McGrane said. “The past few years we just haven’t finished. You take those two games against New Paltz and Fredonia where we outshot them a ton but finished in a 0-0 tie. You finish one of those games and you’re in. We missed by two points. There’s a slim margin of error in this conference.”
But this is not a message just from the twelve-year head coach. It has also been echoed by senior leaders such as midfielder Corinna Chambers, who had two goals last season.
“We definitely need to score more often,” Chambers said. “We’re strong in the back, but sometimes when we get the ball up the field we don’t know what to do with it and don’t move off the ball quick enough. We’ve got to finish.”
Luckily for the Lakers, they return with some offensive production from last season. This starts with junior Lynsey Roth, who led the team with seven goals and 15 total points in 2018. It also includes some of the underclassmen, such as sophomore Liz Myers. Chambers knew how talented Myers was, even before stepping foot on campus.
“Liz has always been good,” Chambers said. “We went to the same high school and she’s always been great up top. She’s one of those players that knows how to finish, especially on crosses.”
And finish Myers does. Last Saturday, Oswego State was tied with Houghton with just 15 seconds remaining in the game. At that point, Myers booted home the game-winning goal on a crossing pass from fellow sophomore Maggie Riordan. The Lakers would hold on to win, 2-1, for their first win in the 2019 campaign.
“I thought that goal was huge,” McGrane said. “Without it, that game might’ve ended in a tie or even a loss and mentally would’ve been draining with all the chances we had in the second half.”
Myers’ ability paired with other scorers such as Roth and Chambers could be a huge key to the Lakers’ success this season. Oswego State managed to score just 1.06 goals per game in 2018. The sophomore understands the pressure she is under after losing a few key scorers from last season.
“I’m just taking it in stride,” Myers said. “I know people are looking at me to produce, and I’m using it as motivation.”
An area the Lakers feel pretty confident in is their goaltending. Emma Allen has been stellar between the pipes since transferring from Onondaga Community College in 2017. She is a big reason why Oswego State was able to hang around in games last season, even while struggling to score. Allen posted a 1.29 GAA and stopped 80.3% of the shots that came her way in 2018. Now a senior, Allen reflects on the Lakers’ senior class, which consists of seven student-athletes.
“This senior class is really close,” Allen said. “We’re close to both under and upperclassman. It’s going to be really tough to leave, but I know we’ll leave the team in great hands.”
That closeness is something felt even by the younger players. They describe the senior class as one that has been nothing but welcoming.
“Our senior leaders have made sure we mold well together,” Myers said. “They taught us to just have fun. We had a huge freshman group come in this year, and they made sure each and every one of them felt welcome.”
Allen and Chambers both expressed their desire to make it back to the SUNYAC playoffs one last time. But before Oswego State enters into conference play, they must focus on a tough non-conference slate, where they begin a five-game road trip starting Friday, Sept. 6.
“Non-conference is big,” McGrane said. “It tells us about how we want to play and we’re playing against really good teams so that’s another plus to see some of the pace and physicality of other college players.”
All in all, Emma Allen summed it up in one simple sentence.
“Honestly, I just hope we go out with a bang.”
Graphic by Patrick Higgins | The Oswegonian
