The Oswego State women’s soccer team improved its position in the table and moved up to third place after drawing against the SUNY Plattsburgh Cardinals and winning at home against the Buffalo State Bengals.

The first match ended in a goalless draw between the two teams. It was a tightly contested game, with limited scoring opportunities for both sides. Each team appeared well-prepared defensively, leading to a lack of clear chances. The Cardinals managed five shots on goal, whereas the Lakers had only three.

With the score locked at zero, the match featured a high number of fouls—20 by the Cardinals and 11 by the Lakers. Despite the aggressive play, only one yellow card was issued and it was allotted to a Cardinals player. This game underscores the strength of the Lakers’ defensive setup, which has successfully kept opponents from scoring in five of their last six matches. Notably, even with fewer shots, the Lakers secured more corner kicks, totaling six compared to just two for the Cardinals. In the 45 minutes of the first half, a total of seven substitutions occurred on the Lakers’ side. In the second half, 11 substitutions were made to try to change the score.

In the second game, there were many more actions. The Lakers understood that more opportunities needed to be created against a team better placed in the table. The Lakers beat the Bengals 1-0 at home. During the match’s opening minutes, everything was balanced until the 22nd minute. The Bengals made four shots and the Lakers three, with the first ten minutes having more actions from the Lakers and the other ten more from the Bengals. However, it was in the 24th minute that the Lakers opened the scoring with a beautiful cross from Emma Rechtorovic to leave Amber McDermott in the face of goal against the keeper. The cross was right and left and the Bengals’ defensive system lost during the goal. The shot was still trying to be saved by the goalkeeper, but the ball ended up slowly going to the goal.

After the goal, many substitutions were made by both teams, but the Lakers remained superior and grew in the game, leaving only one shot from the Bengals in the rest of the first half.

In the second half, the Bengals tried to start the reaction early by bringing five new faces onto the field. However, the Lakers’ superiority was visible for the rest of the match. Once again, the Lakers’ defensive system worked well and allowed only two shots to be made in the second half. What happened with the game was tensions rising and three yellow cards were shown to the Bengals in the second half.

The Lakers’ next game will be the last game valid for the conference before the Playoffs. The Lakers will play on the road against SUNY New Paltz on Oct. 26. The retrospective against the Hawks is positive for the Lakers, having drawn the last three games but the last having advanced from the stage on penalties away from home. Overall, in history, the Lakers are 13-9 against the Hawks.

Photo by: Oswego Athletics