Oswego State men’s soccer ended their season on Oct. 22 with a tough loss against SUNY New Paltz, with a final score of  3-1. 

The Lakers ended their season with an overall record of 5-8-2 and a conference record of 2-5-2. Junior forward Kieran Gilroy bagged the most goals for the Lakers this season with eight. Senior defender Ryan Young, junior forward Kyle Genrich, junior defender Brendan Murphy, and sophomore forward Chris Smith all led the team in assists, each with two on the season. Lakers junior goalie Matt D’Arpino had 42 saves during 10 starts on the season. He tallied his most saves this season in a Lakers loss against Elmira college. 

Now that the season has ended, Lakers head coach Dan Kane likes to give his team some time to rest. 

“We allow them some time to breathe and kind of decompress and to evaluate where they are and how we can get better and also get caught up academically,” Kane said. “But it is generally our most downtime once the season has just ended.” 

Kane believes it is important to let his team return to college life after the season is over. Although the record might not show it, there were bright spots from this Lakers team. Montclair State is a nationally ranked team for Div. III soccer and the Lakers only lost to them 1-0 in a hard fought battle where both teams saw chances. Kane also mentioned he believed the team played best in their 6-0 win over SUNY Potsdam. 

“We had moments in almost every game, some longer than others, where we were brilliant, just tremendous,” Kane said. “We looked like one of the top teams in the league and then we had some struggles sustaining that.”  

This off-season the Lakers will look to stay connected and resolve the issues they had this season. With their captain, Caleb Munski, graduating this year, it is going to need to be a group effort for this team to work together this off-season if they want to make another championship run. 

Munski, was a five year player and was named captain for the past two years. During his career, he was named to two All-Conference teams, one All-Region team and he was a one time Scholar All-Region athlete. In 2021, when the Lakers made their championship run, he was named to the 2021 SUNYAC All-Tournament team. Munski started every game he played in. He played 66 games and started in all 66 games. 

“It’s been my life, and my family’s life even before I got here,” Munski said. “My dad grew up here. He didn’t play here but he grew up in Oswego. I’ve had some cousins go here. Obviously my brother was on the team before me, so this program has meant the world to me.” 

As a five year player Munski got to experience the ins and outs of Oswego soccer. He was always a go to player but he started to find his stride and poise after his sophomore year. After that year he became more confident as a player and he gained the trust of his teammates.

Caleb’s favorite moment from being on this team was when they beat SUNY Oneonta in a penalty kick shootout. 

“I think PKs against Oneonta my senior year. Just seeing it took the entire team to do it right,” Munski said. “We went down a goal, then one of my throw-ins connected off Kieran Gilroy’s head to Hajoon Lee, then it went in the back of the net. That comeback story, taking down one of the best teams in the league.” 

Munski knows his last season would have to be a special one, and after this season he hopes his team can carry on the leadership and determination he displayed during his five years playing for Oswego. 

“This year was really humbling to be the old guy on the team. Me and Ryan Young agreed we have to leave the program better than we found it,” Munski said. “The older you are, you have the experience to calm the team down when things are getting rough.” 

His relationship with Kane has always been great and he sees Kane as a father figure. Having a great relationship with your coach is something that every captain needs to have. Kane acknowledges that Munski will be very hard to replace. He sees Munski as irreplaceable in some aspects. His leadership and dedication have helped this team become what they are today.  The team will miss Munski dearly, but the mark he left on this organization will last for many more years to come. 

Photo via Oswego Athletics