After an 8-9 finish to the 2021 season, the Oswego State field hockey team has been a full-fledged powerhouse early through their first five games of the new year with a 5-0 start. Their play has been as close to flawless as it gets, they have only allowed one goal through their first five games and have outscored the opposition by a total of 36-1.
Their most recent game ended in a 5-1 victory against Keystone College, which has been the closest matchup so far this season. History was made when senior Kacie Simzer scored an astonishing four goals and tied the single-game point record for Oswego State, a record that was tied earlier this year by fellow senior Kaitlyn Ahle. The four-goal game now gives Simzer nine on the season, and now leads the team in points with 20. Senior Kaitlyn Mastracco scored her seventh goal of the season and was the only other goal scorer for the Lakers, with freshman Maria Rodriguez-Molina scoring the lone goal for Keystone College.
Veteran leadership has been a key factor in the Lakers’ early season success, which has come from returning seniors such as Mastracco, Ahle, midfielder Megan Delaney and goaltender Erica Scheblein. Last season’s 8-9 record does not show how good that team was, they did not lose a game by more than three goals and kept themselves competitive throughout the year. In fact, the most goals that they gave up in a single game last season was four, so they heavily relied on their defense to get the job done. Knowing how sturdy the defense was in 2021, head coach Heather Moore believes that the veterans on this year’s team learned a lot from last year’s seniors.
“Last year we had a senior defense, so they had four years to hone their craft and become really disciplined defenders,” Moore said. “I think our upperclassmen saw that last year and have continued to push for the same level of discipline with our circle.”
The Lakers’ offense has taken a giant step forward this season, scoring 36 goals in just five games, which is already more than half of the goals they scored in 17 games in the previous year. There have been plenty of contributors when it comes to scoring goals, with 12 players recording at least one point and four players who have double-digit point totals. Ahle and Mastracco are both top three in points for the Lakers this season and have taken on leadership roles in their final seasons at Oswego State. According to Moore, having more seniors on this team helps involve the younger players and evolve their game.
“We are still a relatively older team, we have higher numbers in our senior class than our junior class,” Moore said. “They know what the expectation is, they understand the direction we are going in so I think getting the new players to be part of that will be easier.”
Last season was difficult for the Lakers, they had times when they struggled to put the ball in the net. There was a three-game stretch where they only had a single goal, things needed to change this season if they were going to improve. This team has gone above and beyond in terms of improving their offensive play, they have not scored less than five goals in any of their games so far which is a feat they only accomplished six times in total last year. Moore emphasized that the offense has taken strides, which has allowed them to create more chances to score.
“Offensively we spent a lot of time in the spring working on our technical skills, making bigger plays, and finding the next pass,” Moore said. “So now it is finally being applied to our season so I think our forwards are aware of elimination skills and how to connect with the other members of their offensive line.”
Winning can change the entire culture of a team, and it can lead to improvements in other facets on and off the field. The confidence that the Lakers have at this point of the season is as high as it can get, it would be hard to not feel confident after the start that they have had. Mastracco and her teammates believe that confidence has helped them improve.
“I think we are pretty confident, our forward lines are doing a really good job and I think we have improved from last year which really helps,” Mastracco said. “Our midfield is pretty similar to last year, so we are just working on making good connections to our forwards.”
Senior Megan Delaney has been a staple for this team for multiple years now, and she has played with plenty of different teammates. Chemistry can change throughout the years with new players coming in and out, and Delaney feels like the chemistry this year has been one of the biggest points of improvement.
“Our team this year has really good chemistry, our passing has been better compared to past years,” Delaney said. “Again, our chemistry is unmatched right now.”
The Lakers’ next game will be at 1 p.m. Sept. 17 against St. Lawrence University at Hall-Leet Stadium where they will look to pick up win number seven on the season.
Photo provided by Alexis Fragapane
