By Gerard Turner

The Oswego State women’s lacrosse team started SUNYAC play with a dominating 19-4 win verses SUNY Fredonia but are now on a two-game losing streak after losing to SUNY Oneonta and SUNY Geneseo. After going 1-2 in their last three games, the Lakers have a 2-8 record on the season. 

On April 2, the Lakers went on the road to take on SUNY Oneonta in a conference matchup. The two teams put on an offensive clinic in a back and forth game, scoring a combined 32 goals. SUNY Oneonta started the game off hot by grabbing a 5-2 lead after the first quarter but that lead was short-lived as Oswego State’s Sela Wiley found the back of the net three times in four minutes to start the second quarter, evening the score at 5-5. The Red Dragons were able to contain Wiley for the remainder of the quarter and take a 10-5 lead entering halftime after scoring five unanswered goals in the last 10 minutes. 

Oswego State came out of halftime firing as they tried to mount a comeback. The Lakers were able to pull within two goals entering the last quarter however SUNY Oneonta, was able to put the game away after scoring a goal with 3:45 left on a women-up advantage, crushing the potential comeback and resulting in an 18-14 loss for the Lakers. 

Despite the loss, Oswego State was able to play a well-rounded game, grabbing 49% of groundballs, ripping 36 shots and causing six turnovers. They were able to bury 14 goals, 12 of them coming from duo Wiley (7) and Shae McConnell (5). Goalie Sarah Kamide was able to make 11 saves on 29 shots with a .379 save percentage. The Lakers did struggle when it came to protecting the ball as they had 19 turnovers. 

After their loss to SUNY Oneonta, the Lakers were back at home for a conference game against SUNY Geneseo. Oswego State came into the game with a 2-7 record and the Knights entered the contest with a 6-1 record. SUNY Geneseo was able to take a commanding 7-2 lead

after the first quarter and never looked back. They were able to push their lead to 16-4 heading into the last quarter after scoring five unanswered goals in the remaining 13 minutes of the third quarter. The Lakers were unable to spark a comeback and lost the game 17-6. 

The Knights dominated the whole game as they outshot the Lakers 37-16, won 55% of groundballs and forced 19 turnovers. Oswego State was able to kill off all four penalties they took and score a goal when they were a women-up. Isabella Lembo scored a team-high two goals for the Lakers and Julia Quirk netted her 19th goal of the season and picked up a game-high 11 groundballs. Oswego State has now lost five straight games to SUNY Geneseo since 2019. 

Through the Laker’s first ten games the team averages 10.5 goals per game and averages 25.2 shots per game. Oswego State has controlled 51% of draws and has capitalized on 29-66 free positions. Defensively, they give up 12.4 goals per game and 32.5 shots per game. 

The Lakers are led by their star players Wiley and Madison Davis who have dominated so far this season. Wiley leads the team with 34 points, 27 goals and seven assists. She is coming off a big game against SUNY Oneonta, scoring seven goals and picking up four groundballs. Wiley has scored 15 goals in her last four games and will look to continue her tear in the last six games of the season. Davis has 12 goals and 14 assists on the season and is second on the team in points with 26. Davis has tallied a point in all 10 games this season and has had at least one assist in the last seven games. 

Another player to watch out for is the sophomore McConnell who has scored 11 goals in the last three games. McConnell got off to a slow start with only netting seven goals in the first seven games but has been a big offensive contributor in the Laker’s first three conference games. 

Oswego State currently sits at 2-8 with a 1-2 conference record. The Lakers are tied for seventh in the conference and are two games behind the conference leader SUNY Cortland who sits at 3-0. Through three conference games, Oswego State has both scored and given up 39 goals. They have six remaining conference games on the season and will need to start racking up some wins to stay competitive in SUNYAC play. They will be taking on SUNY New Paltz in their next game at noon, Saturday, April 9 at Laker Turf Stadium. The Hawks are 3-5 overall and 1-1 in conference play.

Image via Oswego State Athletics