After a tough loss on the road against St. John Fisher University, the women’s Oswego State lacrosse team returned home for back-to-back games as they looked to gain momentum back early in the season. 

On Saturday, March 18 the 4-2 Lakers hosted the 1-5 Grove City College in the school’s first-ever meeting. The Lakers came out firing from all over the field, netting eight goals in the first quarter. After no points in her previous game, senior Madison Davis bounced back, contributing to six out of the first seven goals scored by the Lakers. Senior Sela Wiley also contributed with three assists and one goal in the quarter. 

The Lakers shut down the Wolverine’s offensive attack, not allowing any shots in the first quarter. Oswego would continue their offensive pressure into the second quarter as Wiley would score back-to-back goals to push their lead to 11. The Wolverines would answer with a goal of their own from Madeline Dunda. After two late goals from Wiley and junior Katie Fierro, the Lakers would find themselves with a 13-1 lead at halftime. 

Oswego’s Shae McConnell would join the scoring party to start the third period and Isabella Lembo and Julia Quirk would also add on to extend their lead to 16-1. After both teams would go back and forth late in the second half, Oswego freshman Ava Tulimiero would net her first collegiate goal with 36 seconds left to cap off the Laker’s 19-4 win. Oswego would dominate the stat sheet, outshooting the Wolverines 33-9, forcing 24 turnovers, winning 68% of ground balls and going a perfect 17-17 on clears. Wiley would finish with four goals and six assists which would earn her SUNYAC offensive player of the week. Davis would finish with four goals and four assists and Quirk and Lembo also tallied three goals each. 

Coming off a big win against the Wolverines, the Lakers hosted Nazareth College on March 22. Wiley would score the first goal of the game less than two minutes in but the Golden Flyers would answer minutes later with a goal from Emma States. The Lakers offense would spark in the second quarter with two goals from McConnell and goals from Lembo and Wiley. Nazareth would also bury two goals in the second coming from States again and Maggie Vay. At halftime, Oswego would be up 7-3 and lead the total shots 20-11. 

After a Wiley goal to start the third, the Golden Eagles would attempt to spark a comeback with two straight goals in twenty seconds, but Quirk would answer seconds later to help the Lakers take a 9-5 lead. States and Vay would tally two more goals for the Golden Eagles but that would not be enough to keep up with the Lakers offense. With the clock striking double zero, the Lakers would win their second straight game with a 14-7 victory. Oswego would outshoot Nazareth 40-25 and win the ground ball battle 11-4. Lembo and Wiley would lead the team in goals with four and McConnell would net a hat trick. Lakers goalie Sarah Kamide would continue her dominant season with 10 saves and seven goals given up.

Through seven games, Oswego sits with a record of 5-2, 2-1 at home and 3-1 on the road. They average 13.8 goals per game and give up 7.5 goals per game. The Lakers shoot the ball 30.4 times per game compared to their opponent’s 22.3 shots. Oswego has succeeded in being a woman-up as they have scored eight goals with this advantage and have been efficient in clearing the ball at an 86.8% rate. Wiley leads the team with 34 points, 21 goals and 13 assists. Davis has contributed 31 points, 15 goals and 16 assists. Davis and Wily are the top two in the SUNYAC in assists. After seven games Kamide averages 6.51 goals against and has a 55.4 save percentage, which leads the SUNYAC. 

Oswego will continue their homestand as they begin SUNYAC play against SUNY New Paltz. The 4-2 Hawks are coming off an 18-2 win against Mount Saint Mary College. Leading the team in points is Kaitlyn Shawn with 27 points, 22 goals and five assists. Behind her is Julia Logan who has 24 points, 14 goals and 10 assists. Goalie Gabriella Tommaso has a goals-against average of 8.05 with a 34.6 save percentage. The game will be played at 1 p.m. on March 25 at the Laker Turf Stadium.

Photo via Oswego Athletics