The Oswego State men’s lacrosse team faced off against the Utica Pioneers at Gaetano Stadium on March 22. The Lakers put the hurt on the Pioneers finishing with an 8-3 score, making their overall record thus far 2-2.
Sophomore attacker Corey O’Connor scored the Lakers first goal with 1:02 left in the first period, after the first goal of the game was scored by Utica’s junior attackman John Spoto with 3:29 left in the period. Spoto was assisted by freshman attackman Nolan Shea. O’Connor was assisted by senior attacker Jack Delany.
After that, the Lakers were on a hot streak throughout the second and third periods. Trey Jones, a freshman midfielder, scored the next goal with 6:51 left in the second period. Midfielder Connor Aspinal kept the streak going into the third period, quickly followed by goals from Jones and Delany again, with 4:49 and 3:57 left respectively.
Utica briefly escaped the Lakers’ grip when freshman defense Gianpaul Cooper scored early in the fourth period. Delany and sophomore midfielder Max Brodman were not having that, and fired back less than a minute later to score the Lakers’ sixth goal of the game. But 16 seconds later, Utica made one more attempt to save themselves. Kevin O’Brien-Bruno scored the Pioneers’ last goal with 11:39 remaining. Broadman scored with 7:47 left and O’Connor bagged the Lakers’ final point with 2:17 left. Both assisted by junior midfielder Gavin Elston who has been instrumental in the Lakers’ scoring this season.
Overall the Lakers took 46 shots, and had 10 saves whereas the Pioneers had 15 saves. By stats the teams appear almost even, but the Lakers’ fighting spirit helped them maintain control throughout the game. The consistent performances by O’Connor, Delany and Jones in particular show that the Lakers have a tough group of midfielders. The Lakers remained at even strength for the majority of the game, and won 10 faceoffs while the Pioneers won four.
This game was the confidence boost the Lakers needed as they prepare to head to their first SUNYAC matchup of the season against SUNY Brockport at 3 p.m. on March 25. Brockport’s overall record is 2-5.
The Lakers will have to be sharp even though the Golden Eagles have lost five games so far, only beating Utica on March 15 and Westminster College on March 11. Brockport and Utica seem to be having similar seasons so far as Utica’s overall record is 3-5.
Still, the Lakers should not get too comfortable even though this first SUNYAC match seems like a cinch. The Golden Eagles are an older team with only a few freshmen on board. However, while Brockport’s team has fewer freshmen than the Lakers do, that might be where their greatest strength lies. Having a younger team is not bad, especially since they beat one of the only two teams Brockport has defeated so far.
The players that the Lakers should watch for are Nate Askin and Jack Peterson. Askin has scored 17 points and had a .455 shots on goal average at their March 22 match at Nazareth. Peterson has scored 15 points and averaged .750. The Lakers as a team currently have a .493 shots on goal average. Jones, who has a .667 average and O’Connor who sits at .600 will be closely matched to them.
Photo via Oswego Athletics
