This may be the first time in a few weeks that Oswego State athletics will have a chance to breathe. The season, which is just a few weeks old, has been filled with exciting play and hectic schedules. The highlight of the season for me, though, is still the amazing play in net of senior men’s lacrosse goalie Kevin O’Donnell. 

The team has struggled in the early going, winless through the first five games of the season. O’Donnell has faced as many as 50 shots in a game at times this season. The defense in front of him has not put a full game together yet but the amazing fact is that in all these struggles, a leader has emerged. 

The score was 12-6 Nazareth College on top of Oswego State halfway through the fourth quarter on April 13. O’Donnell seemingly was in a paintball war without any cover from the opposition’s ammunition, facing 55 shots on the day, having to make several saves just to keep Nazareth College’s lead within 10 goals. 

Nazareth College’s Jon Parinello scored to make the score 13-6, then star attackman, Jon Roth, made the score 14-6 a few minutes later. In between these two goals, O’Donnell sprawled out and tried his hardest to keep the game respectable. Some star goalies would have given up, blamed their defense and potentially asked to be pulled from the game. 

That is not in O’Donnell’s DNA; he was going to fight and claw against every single shot until the game was over. The defensemen in front of O’Donnell changed several times. Throughout it all, O’Donnell continued to coach and communicate with those in front of him. Good or bad he fought for his teammates, it stands out above all.