With winter sports coming to a close, it is time to bust out the cleats and head onto the turf, as Oswego State women’s lacrosse begins their 2024 season. 

Last season, the Lakers finished third in the SUNYAC, with an overall record of 13-5. They also said some goodbyes to four beloved seniors. 

Heading into this season, they have now welcomed five fresh faces to their team, including Mackenzie Perry, Cassidy Croce, Kathryn Nash, Milena Vassallo and Jaelynn Aldrich. 

The Lakers opened their season right at home at Laker Turf Stadium against the SUNY Morrisville Mustangs on Feb. 23. 

In their first matchup of the season, the Lakers hit the ground running, asserting their dominance. Only three minutes into the game, Alexis Hill scored on a free position shot, earning the first point. After that, it was rapid fire for the Lakers, scoring four more goals only minutes apart from each other. The Mustangs began to finally gain some momentum towards the end of the quarter, with Anyssia Ingersoll scoring the first goal with about six minutes left of the quarter. The Lakers did not let the Mustangs get too far in points; the first quarter ended with the Lakers in the lead 8-4. 

There was no rest for the Lakers heading into the second quarter. Merely seconds in, Julia Quirk added another point for the Lakers off an assist from Sela Wiley. Much like the first quarter, the Lakers kept adding point after point. The Mustangs failed to make it onto the scoreboard during this quarter, keeping the Lakers in the lead with a score of 15-4 to end the second quarter. 

Things began to slow down a bit in the third quarter. Alexa Ringgold managed to snag the first goal of this quarter for the Mustangs just about six minutes in. Neither team added another point for themselves throughout the rest of the quarter, until the very end when Sadie Zemanick and Isabella Lembo scored two points for the Lakers off assists from Katie Fierro and Wiley. Those last two points resulted in the quarter ending in a score of 17-5. 

The final quarter played out much like the previous quarter. The Lakers put up four points for themselves while simultaneously preventing the Mustangs from finding any more points. The Lakers took their first win of the season in a score of 21-5. 

After their season opening game, the Lakers hit the road to Potsdam on Feb. 27 to face the Clarkson Golden Knights. 

Bouncing off the big win against the Mustangs, the Lakers started off this game strong, with Quirk earning a point for the Lakers seconds into the first quarter. They may have been determined to clench another win, but the Golden Knights kept the Lakers on their toes throughout the first quarter. Only trailing behind by two points, the first quarter ended with the Golden Knights in the lead 5-3. 

Trying to keep the lead, this time the Golden Knights scored the first goal of the second quarter at 14:43. The Lakers put up their best defenses for a majority of the second quarter, but it was no match to the Golden Knights offense, who remained in the lead 9-5 heading into the final two quarters. 

The Golden Knights continued their strong offenses through the third quarter, managing to score five points for themselves total, while the Lakers managed only two points heading into the final quarter with a score of 14-7. 

Although the Lakers brought their score up to ten in the last quarter, they still could not keep up with the Golden Knights offense, which resulted in the Lakers falling to Clarkson 18-10. 

For their next matchup, the Lakers will host the Utica University Pioneers on March 2 at Laker Turf Stadium at 1 p.m. 

Photo by: Oswego Athletics