The Oswego State men’s lacrosse team taught the SUNY Morrisville Mustangs a lesson. The Lakers faced the Mustangs this Saturday at Laker Turf.

But it was not just any game. It was Senior Day, a day that celebrates and honors the team’s seniors. Before the game started, there was a ceremony for the 12 athletes playing their last season with the program. All the players on the team formed a corridor and applauded the seniors, who passed one by one with their families, which is the most valuable to them, hugging coach Andre Daly and his staff at the end of the tunnel.

After the ceremony, the game started and the weather was cold and foggy. But nothing could stop the Lakers, who fought to continue their undefeated streak. The Mustangs came out with everything from the beginning and managed to open the scoring. Two minutes later, Emmett Starowizc responded by tying the match. The game continued to be tight, with the Lakers defending themselves well. To break the tie and put the Lakers ahead for the first time, senior Corey O’Connor scored with an assist from Starowizc. After that, the entire first half was spent with the Lakers increasing their lead, but when everything seemed settled, with six seconds left and the score at 3-1 for the Lakers, the Mustangs scored with Kyan Dohn and made the game tight again.

Until the star of the day appeared in the match. Garrett Elston started the work in the second period, scoring after an assist from his brother, Gavin Elston. Garrett is playing with his brother for the first time and has been growing a lot as an athlete, following in Gavin’s footsteps. As this is his last year in college, Gavin said his advice to his brother would be to “fight and leave everything on the field”. That is precisely what Garrett did, scoring five goals and providing an assist in the game. The Lakers exceled the rest of the period, scoring six goals and not conceding any. With the 9-2 advantage, the Lakers’ superiority was no secret. The Mustangs came out on top in the third period, scoring four goals, while the Lakers responded by scoring two. In the fourth period, the Lakers scored even more goals and increased the lead to 16-8. The bench was in celebration from start to finish. Each goal seemed like a goal in a final, with celebrations and cheers for the seniors who scored. 

The Lakers have now gone four games unbeaten in the SUNYAC and are tied for first place with SUNY Cortland. Their next game will be on the road on April 19 against SUNY Plattsburgh.

Photo by: Oswego Athletics