Oswego men’s lacrosse crush Canton with unexpected hat trick

By James Fitzpatrick and William Bond

OSWEGO, N.Y. — The Oswego State Lakers men’s lacrosse team advanced to 8-3 for the season and 2-2 in their conference, after a blowout 26-9 victory against the Canton Kangaroos on Saturday, April 11.

The Lakers wanted to get off to a hot start for Senior Day, and that’s exactly what they did when Doryn Leclair scored just 37 seconds into the game.

“This is a day to honor the seniors and alumni,” said head coach Andrew Daly. “It’s also a great way to honor everyone who’s been around them – family, friends and anyone who’s helped them along the way.”

It quickly became an ugly game, as the Lakers exploded in the first quarter, which included a goal from an unlikely hero: Ryan Rogers.

Rogers, a senior from Hamburg, New York, only scored two goals in his collegiate career coming into Saturday, both in the same game two years ago.

However, Rogers would go on to score two more throughout the rest of the Senior Day game, potting his first career hat trick.

“The shots were just falling,” Rogers said. “I just felt a huge adrenaline rush, and once I scored one, I thought, ‘Let’s go for two.’ Then, when I finally got to three, I was just like, ‘Alright, this is a huge monkey off my back.'”

Daly said that on Senior Day, he decided to give Rogers more playing time.

“He took advantage of an opportunity,” Daly said. “He had some extra runs than he usually would, and you should’ve seen the reaction from the sideline when he scored that first one, everyone went nuts.”

The hat trick was a shock to many, including the broadcasters.

“He was just reading the defense so well,” said WTOP-10 play-by-play commentator Brayden Peters. “He was hot the entire day, and it was really a shock when he scored the hat trick. He was finding the gaps so well all day.”

Rogers said that his confidence stemmed mostly from his teammates and coaching: that he trusted his teammates to get him the ball and his coaches to put him in the best situations.

With the blowout against Canton behind them, the Lakers will now head to Oneonta to face the Red Dragons in a game with huge playoff implications.

“We just gotta stick with it,” Rogers said. “That win against Canton was huge for us after dropping two in a row, but we gotta keep the offense rolling and do what we do best.”

We will see if the Lakers’ – and Rogers’ – luck keeps up in Oneonta on Saturday, April 18.