Lakers Roll Past Red Dragons as History Within Reach

Rain came streaming down onto Laker Turf Stadium Wednesday afternoon. These conditions appeared to have no effect on the Lakers as they didn’t just win against the Red Dragons, they dominated, sending a clear message to the rest of their conference. With a overwhelming 15-4 victory, the Lakers punched their ticket to the SUNYAC Championship moving them just one win away from making program history.

From the opening draw, the Lakers made it clear to everyone in attendance that they wanted to control every minute of this game. Within minutes, Oswego gained possession and thrashed through the defense. A failed clear would spell disaster for the Red Dragons as it opened a clear lane for star player Alexis Hill to net one home for the first goal of the game.

Just over two minutes into the game, Oswego let their opponent know that mistakes would not go unpunished. Any errant pass, any man-up advantage, any slip in the overbearing rain would be taken advantage of. By the end of the first fifteen minutes, the Red Dragons found themselves in a crushing 6-0 hole.

This explosive start wasn’t just something the Lakers slipped into during this rainy bout. This type of teamwork is practiced each and every day. “We’ve been building team chemistry all year, and as an offensive unit, we preach patience to wait for the right look to occur to get easy shots off,” stated Cassidy Croce, a junior midfielder for the squad.

The Lakers capitalizing off their fantastic start kept the pressure coming as both Alexis Hill and Addison Costello recorded hat tricks by the end of half bringing the lead up to 11-1 in favor of the Lakers. With a double digit lead heading into the half, there was now a question on everybody’s mind. Would the Lakers be able to stay in it mentally or could they potentially let their foot off the gas coming out of the second half?

“Being in the postseason, nothing is promised. The records are washed and it all comes down to that. Everyone’s different in the playoffs with seasons on the line. That was running through our heads in that we still had to keep it rolling and play thirty more minutes just as Oneonta did, and that it was still anyone’s game because they weren’t gonna go down without a fight.” stated Croce when asked about the team’s mentality coming out of half.

That mentality was tested immediately as Oneonta came out of the half a completely different team. They put their foot down defensively, shutting out the Lakers in the third. They looked crisper, more unified, fewer mistakes.

The effort however was too little too late as the Lakers finished out the final 15 minutes in a dominant fashion netting 4 goals for a final score of 15-4.

Now the stage is set, with this victory, the Lakers are going to the SUNYAC Championship where they’ll be hosting the Cortland Red Dragons later today at 1:00 PM for round two. The opportunity for this squad is monumental as they have the chance to secure back-to-back SUNYAC titles for the first time in program history.

One game now stands between the Lakers and greatness, if Wednesday night was anything to go off of, they are more than ready to seize it.