The Oswego State field hockey team hosted the William Smith College Herons for their final game of the 2023 season which also doubled as senior day. Seniors Abigail Redmond, Bryleigh Beauchat, Molly Darcy, Erin Schaefer and Sydney Bialak were honored for their contributions to the team. 

The first quarter of the game found the Lakers having to focus on staying strong on the defensive end. William Smith had a powerful push right out of the gate. The Herons had two series of penalty corners and shots on goal, with the second hitting the back of the net at 3:20. Just under a minute later, William Smith had another three penalty corners and the second goal of the game, each 10 seconds apart. 

With less than a minute and a half left on the clock in the second quarter, the Herons scored their third goal of the game. 

Oswego had no shots or penalty corners for the first half of the game. 

Right out of the gate, Oswego’s Kaitlyn Jordan made the team’s first shot on goal of the game. Just five minutes later Jordan had another opportunity to score but it was blocked by the Herons’ defense. After three shot attempts in the middle of the fourth quarter, William Smith scored goal number four of the day resulting in their 4-0 win, dusting the Lakers.  

Bialek had four saves in the net while Darcy and Schaefer each contributed one defensive save for the day.  

The Lakers have not won a game against William Smith College since 1983 where they won 2-1 in overtime. Against the Herons their record is 6-29-2.

The Lakers finished the 2023 season with an overall 5-13 record going 1-6 in conference play. They went 3-7 at home and 2-6 on the road. 

Their lone win in conference play was over Morrisville State College where they dominated 12-0. The Lakers scored a consistent three goals in each quarter. Eight team members contributed to the score and Kate McNally scored four of her own. Oswego backed the Mustangs into a corner and did not allow them to have any shots. 

Leading scorers for the season for Oswego were McNally with nine, Ellie Kazel with four and Kacie Simzer and Nancy Pagliaroli each had three. Kazel and Simzer also led the assists category with four each. McNally had 48 shots and 30 of them were on goal. 

In goal, KY Phillips had 99 saves for the season and a game high of 16 saves versus the Ithaca College Bombers. She is also ranked fourth overall in the conference for total number of saves. 

As a team the Lakers ended with 33 goals and 165 shots for the season. They averaged 1.83 goals and 9.2 shots per game. They also bested opponents in defensive saves 20-14. 

Oswego was victorious over five teams this season:  Manhattanville College (5-2), Keystone College (2-0), Morrisville State College (12-0), Keuka College (5-1) and Nazareth University (2-0). 

In comparison to the last two seasons, the Lakers lacked tremendously in goals scored. They totaled 59 goals in 2021 and 53 goals in 2022 versus this season’s 33. The Lakers also won three more games both last season and in 2021. 

Oswego’s offense looks strong for next season. They will have their top four scorers (McNally, Kazel, Simzer and Pagliaroli) returning to play. Freshman goalie Phillips is just getting started and will continue to dominate for the Lakers in net in the upcoming season. 

The Lakers will look to learn from this season and rebound as they prepare for the upcoming 2024 fall season next year.

Photo by: Oswego Athletics