This weekend marks the first SUNYAC game of the 2022 season for the Oswego State men’s lacrosse team. The Lakers head into the contest on a four-game win streak which featured a win against non-conference opponent Utica College. 

The 18-8 victory featured plenty of offense coming from Weston Gray and Ryan Eccles who both had over seven points in the contest. The offense has been quarterbacked by the two players along with Gavin Elston who had one goal and five assists in Wednesday’s contest against the Pioneers. 

This win streak started back on March 11 with a 10-7 win over Morrisville State. The Lakers continued their dominating performance with another road win against St. Joseph’s College on Long Island over spring break and followed that up with two wins at Laker Turf Stadium. 

Oswego State will look to continue their hot streak that they have stringed together into conference play that kicks off this weekend. After going 0-7 the previous year, and not winning a conference game, the Lakers have bounced back under new head coach Sean Eccles. This is the interim head coach’s first time as the head of a coaching staff at the collegiate level and he touched on the beginning of his career at Oswego State. 

“We have had some growing pains at the start of the season, but we are starting to play faster,” Eccles said. “We are starting to execute on offense and starting to jell. I think we have been good defensively all year, but it is time to find those transition goals from defense to offense.”

The players have spoken highly of Eccles and his stint with the team so far. There is a new culture surrounding this group and that new feeling makes the team want to hit the field hard every day during practice. Junior defender Brendan Haims spoke highly of that new atmosphere.

“The first part of the season has gone well, and I have noticed the energy is better,” Haims said. “The compete level is up in practice and that is translating over to games. The culture is better, and I look forward to coming out on the field every day.”

On the defensive side of the ball, Haims has been with the team for three seasons with his first game coming back in the 2020 season prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. With 16 career games played and 14 total ground balls, Haims is a leader in the defensive zone and continues to be an example of how the Lakers want to play lacrosse on the defensive side of the ball.

In between the pipes, the Lakers have a new starting netminder after Kevin O’Donnell graduated following the 2021 season. Aiden Kenyon, a junior from Canandaigua, steps into the starting role after being mentored by O’Donnell the previous two seasons. The head coach had a lot to say about his goaltender after the performance he had Wednesday afternoon.

“His communication has been awesome but his work clearing the ball is what has set him apart,” Eccles said. “He can find the right guy and it is jump starting the offense. The offensive stuff comes from our defense, and he is our backbone on the defensive side.”

The Laker has put up a goals against average of 7.51 and a save percentage of .643 after seven games played so far this campaign. Kenyon has now taken over as the upperclassman leadership in the goaltending position, showing the way for the two younger netminders also on the roster. 

“I sat behind a great goalie in Kevin O’Donnell for two years,” Kenyon said. “I took a lot from him and now I can fill that role as a junior. I am that guy that must keep the group calm and be that go to now in net. I have been telling the younger guys to be confident when they are in goal and trust the team that is in front of them. That is what Kevin taught me and it is my turn to do the same.”

Back on offense, the Lakers have already tallied 77 goals in seven games played so far this year. Leading the way has been senior attacker Weston Gray who has 17 goals and six assists. Corey O’Connor has been the lead playmaker for the Lakers with a team high of 11 assists in his freshman campaign. 

This weekend Oswego State will wait until Sunday to kick off their conference play in the 2022 season. SUNY Potsdam will travel into town to faceoff against the Lakers for the first time since the 2019 campaign. That last matchup was April 10, 2019, when Oswego State handed SUNY Potsdam an 11-9 loss in the North Country.

The Bears enter the weekend with an overall record of 3-2 and are coming off a 24-10 win over non-conference opponent SUNY Canton. Last season, SUNY Potsdam finished 5-1 in conference on the other side of the conference that was split geographically due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

In matchup history, the Lakers have been the dominating team with a record of 26-15 against the Bears. Oswego State heads into Sunday’s contest on a four-game win streak against SUNY Potsdam and look to start off where the team left off a few years ago. Only the senior class has faced the Bears over the course of their collegiate career, but the Lakers are focusing on playing their style of game heading into the contest.

“We need to keep riding hard and get those garbage goals,” Eccles said. “We need to play dirty not penalty wise but in terms of ground balls, getting back on defense, and we want to be that blue-collar team. We need to get it off the ground and, in the air, and play hard. We are focusing on ourselves, and this is what the first part of the season was about.”

That blue collar, gritty style is something the Lakers will continue to bring to the field each contest the rest of the season. Game time is set for 1 p.m. on Sunday at Laker Turf Stadium as the Lakers look to start conference play on the right foot against the Bears of SUNY Potsdam.

Photo By William Rogers | The Oswegonian