The Oswego State men’s soccer team ended their season on the road as they faced the SUNY Cortland Red Dragons on Oct. 21,  in what was a back-and-forth game, until the Red Dragons pulled away in the second period, and the Lakers lost their season finale by a score of 3-1.

The first period opened up with plenty of scoring opportunities for both teams, with the Red Dragons putting up two shots in the first 90 seconds of the matchup. The Lakers responded with two shots of their own, with a great shot by Matthew Sturman at the 8:38 mark that was unfortunately saved by the Red Dragons goalkeeper. The Red Dragons controlled the tempo for the next 15 minutes, putting up five shots of their own. The Lakers put up one shot in that timeframe, until they regained control for the rest of the period. After a yellow card that was assessed to Kyle Gehnrich, the Lakers put up two more shots but neither team were able to score, heading into the half at a score of 0-0.

The Red Dragons wasted no time to put the first goal on the board, as within 23 seconds, they put up the first point of the game, making the score 1-0. The Lakers dominated the ball after the goal, and Kieran Gilroy scored his fifth goal of the season at the 56:20 mark, assisted by Benjamin Brooks. Three minutes later, the Red Dragons were back up, as they found the goal at the 59:21 mark, putting the Lakers in a 2-1 hole. The Lakers never put a shot up for the rest of the game, but the Red Dragons put up six shots of their own, putting the nail in the coffin for the Lakers.

The Red Dragons doubled the Lakers in shots, putting up 20 compared to the Lakers’ ten. Jason Wuytack, Brendan Murphy and Gilroy all led the team in shots, with two apiece. Goalkeeper Finnian Costello left the day with six saves.

The Lakers ended their season at an unfortunate 2-6-7 overall record, and a 1-4-4 in-conference record.  Their two wins of the season were during September, against Elmira University and SUNY Potsdam. The Lakers have not made the playoffs since their 2021 campaign, where they made it all the way to the SUNYAC championship and lost to the Cortland Red Dragons.

Gilroy was undoubtedly the statistical leader of the offense for the Lakers, as he led the team in goals with five, and led the team in shots with 38, 24 of those were on goal. He also finished his season with two assists. Derek Rivera, Chris Smith and Wuytack were all second on the team in goals, with two apiece for the season. Rivera did it on only five shots all season. Smith had ten and Wuytack had 11. Gehnrich led the team in assists with four, and while he had 23 shots on his season, he finished his 2023 campaign with no goals. Starting goalkeeper Andre Bourjolly finished his season with 50 saves, but allowed 21 goals, the third most in his conference. 

It will be a much different Lakers team the next time we see them take the field, as Costello, Gehnrich, Daniel Mahany, Sturman, Murphy, Liam Rothar, Matthew Sprague and Matt D’Arpino are all seniors. Gilroy will also not be on the field next season, as he is a graduate student. 

This wraps up the 2023 season for the Lakers; we will not see them play until their 2024 campaign.

Photo via: Oswego Athletics