The Oswego men’s soccer team lost both of their games this week, one against SUNY Plattsburgh and one against Buffalo State. With these defeats, the Lakers dropped their position in the table, falling behind SUNY Fredonia and it no longer depends solely on them to qualify.

The game was marked by many cards for both sides and showed race and rivalry between the two teams. The Cardinals made 17 fouls while the Lakers made fewer with 12.

Even so, six yellow cards were given in game three for each team.

The game started with the Cardinals dominating, finishing four times against the Lakers. Only one of those shots was on goal. But at 15:36, Kyle Rose committed a penalty that resulted in a goal for the Cardinals. In addition to the penalty, the referee issued a yellow card to Rose.

After the goal in the 27th minute, the Cardinals arrived with more shots at Rose, forcing him to make three saves. With 28 minutes on the clock, Daniel Kane started to change the time and it worked. The Lakers increased their chances and began to create more, finishing four more times until the end of the first half.

The second half started with two yellow cards, one for each team. The game was primarily marked by heavy fouls on both sides, with two shots on goal for the Cardinals and just one shot on target for the Lakers. One of the causes that did not help the Lakers’ game is that they have been solid in corners and aerial plays. However, in this game, they only had a corner in their favor twice and both opportunities were in the second half.

The game ended 1-0 for the Cardinals and sent the Lakers down the table.

The second game of the week was against the Bengals. It was another defeat, but this time, it was in a very open game where both teams attacked a lot.

The game started frantically and the Bengals opened the score quickly. Two minutes into the game, the Bengals took the lead 1-0. And it did not stop there. They continued attacking and creating chances with three more shots until five minutes later when the Bengals scored the match’s second goal and opened up a 2-0 lead. After the second goal, the game became a little more balanced and the Lakers finished four more times before the Bengals scored the third goal of the game. 3-0 and the match was practically over after 17 minutes of play.

The Lakers tried to react by finishing three more times, but the Bengals did not stop and managed to finish a lot. And it did nottake long to extend the advantage even further and put a half foot in the victory at 41. The Bengals scored the fourth goal of the match. The Lakers reacted with a penalty goal scored by Chris Smith and took the game to 4-1 at halftime.

Again, at the beginning of the second half, the Bengals extended their lead even further to 5-1 with 52 minutes. With nothing to lose, the Lakers tightened the gap with a score from Matthew Sturman, assisted by Benjamin Brooks, in the 70th minute. Sturman scored again, this time assisted by Jason Wuytack, in the 78th minute. With the game under control, the Bengals did not suffer much and secured the victory.

The Lakers’ next game is against SUNY New Paltz at home on Oct. 26. Needing a defeat of Fredonia to qualify for the SUNYAC playoffs.

Photo by: Oswego Athletics