The Oswego State men’s lacrosse team won their first game in SUNYAC play on Saturday at home versus the SUNY New Paltz Hawks. 

The win marked the team’s second consecutive victory after a win last week over Keuka. The first quarter of the game opened up with the Lakers scoring three goals in the first five minutes. Garrett Elston buried two goals (one off of an assist by Hayden Coney) and Corey O’Connor capitalized on a fastbreak faceoff assist by Logan Prescott. The game remained 3-0 with Oswego putting constant pressure on New Paltz goalie Zach Novak. New Paltz was finally able to capitalize off an offensive possession with one minute left in the first. New Paltz opened up the second quarter with another goal making the score 3-2. The Lakers then started putting the pressure on offense and the quarter was dominated by O’Connor who scored four goals to give Oswego an 8-2 lead heading into the half. The second half opened up with a quick goal by Oswego’s Nate Ham off an assist by Emmett Starowizc not even a minute into the half.

New Paltz soon made the score 9-4 with two quick goals to answer. Luckily for Oswego, Prescott continued to dominate the faceoff and kept giving the Lakers possessions. O’Connor was able to put one past Novak for the sixth time with two minutes to go in the third quarter, making the score 10-4. The final quarter of play saw only three goals total, with one belonging to Elston, giving him four on the day. At the end of 60 the final score was 11-6 in favor of the Lakers, making their record 1-0 in the SUNYAC and 5-3 overall. Oswego goalie Seamus Hand was able to make 12 saves on 18 shots, for an impressive save percentage of 67%. The Lakers were also able to go 20-21 on clears and registered a whopping 32 shots on goal. 

Laker Seniors O’Connor and Prescott earned respective offensive (O’Connor) and defensive (Prescott) player of the week nods in the SUNYAC for their impressive performances. O’Connor put up six goals versus New Paltz, Prescott then was able to go 17-21 on faceoffs, which is an impressive 81% win rate. 

Oswego looks ahead to their next SUNYAC home matchup against the Potsdam Bears this Saturday, April 5 at 1 p.m. The Bears are 1-0 as well after defeating SUNY Canton 24-2, so the game proves to be a good matchup.

Photo by: Oswego Athletics