Coming off back-to-back road games, the Oswego State men’s lacrosse team returned home last weekend to play their second conference game of the season against the 2-7 Plattsburgh State. 

The contest would start as a defensive battle until the Cardinals struck first with a goal from junior John Eiseman. Oswego answered back minutes later with a goal from freshman attackman Hayden Coney, his first collegiate goal. The Lakers built momentum early in the second quarter, rattling off four straight goals, two coming off the stick of Max Brodman. Both teams tallied a few more goals before heading into halftime with the Lakers leading 7-3. Despite only 10 total goals, both teams piled on shots in the second quarter with Oswego leading shot attempts 32-16.

To start the second half both offenses ramped up even more as both teams traded goals. With a man-up advantage, Brodman would bury his third goal of the game, but the Cardinals and Eisman would not go away as Eisman netted back-to-back goals in attempts to spark a comeback. The Cardinals scored two more to cut the lead to two, but Corey O’Connor took advantage of Oswego’s man-up situation and ended the Cardinal’s momentum with his second goal of the game. O’Connor netted two more to put the game out of reach as the Lakers ended the game with a 16-11 win. 

Oswego would outshoot the Cardinals 55-41, win the groundball battle 27-17 and go 23-26 on clears. O’Connor led the Lakers in points with six and Brodman contributed five points himself. Senior goalie Aiden Kenyon earned his fourth win of the season with seven saves on 18 shots.

After his team’s performance coach Andrew Daly was able to share his thoughts on the 16-11 win. 

“We did a lot of good things as we put the ball in the back of the net which was a big point of emphasis going into the game,” said Daly. “But I think we had some lapses in our effort throughout the game, just being locked in throughout the whole game no matter what the score is.” 

Daly and his squad are sitting in at 4-2 with a 2-0 conference record. They average 9.1 goals on 40.3 shots per game and are clearing the ball effectively at an 86% rate. Leading the team in points is O’Connor with 17 on 10 goals and seven assists. The leader in points from last season, junior Gavin Elston is second this year in points with 15. Leading the team in goals is Brodman with 11, four coming with a man-up advantage. Kenyon has been dominant in the crease with a goals-against average of 9.6 and a 50.4 save percentage. 

As the Lakers look ahead to their next game against SUNY Oneonta, Daly expressed the challenges the Red Dragons may present.

“They have a freshman attackman that is averaging five points a game, they are really good between the boxes, they are good at their riding and clearing game and they push a lot in transition,” Daly said. “We cannot beat ourselves and we have to make sure we do not turn the ball over.” 

The Lakers are 20-23 all-time against the Red Dragons and will look for redemption from last season at 1 p.m. on April 8 at the Laker Turf Stadium.

Photo via: Erin Blank