The Oswego Lakers field hockey team took on the St. Lawrence Saints Friday night. The Lakers were absolutely overpowered by the Saints’ offense, losing 5-1, and taking on 20 shots throughout the game.

The game was delayed right off the bat. Originally a 7 P.M. game start, but St. Lawrence had bus troubles, pushing the game to 8 P.M.; but rain was still pouring with lightning in the area, with the game not starting until around 8:30 P.M. But, it didn’t affect the team at all.

“The bus part happened early enough where we knew we were ready to go,” head coach Heather Moore said. “Rain is unfortunate, there was lightning and stuff like that, it didn’t necessarily help so you’re warming up on Astro Turf and trying to get out as early as possible.”

The Saints were coming right out the gate with strong offense, not letting the Lakers take it up mid-field. The only player from the Lakers to have any chance, and to make the most of it, was junior Lacey Woite.

“I think this game was a turning point for Lacey,” Moore said. “We’ve been working really, really hard on her pulls, and I think it finally came all together.”

However, the defensive efforts of Emily Brockwell, and momentum of Woite did not amount to anything, as Jackie Reiss, of St. Lawrence, scored with 16:41 left in the first half.

While the Lakers tried to bounce back, they could not find an answer. The Laker defense was being, once again, overpowered.

“It’s just kind of the flow of the game,” Moore said. “Generally, you’re going to see that kind of transition right after a goal, every time.”

Woite was still putting in all of her effort, to score goals for Oswego State, but that was to no avail, as the half ended on a nerve-wracking penalty corner, Oswego State was just hoping to clear the ball to enter halftime.

But halftime did not help. The Lakers did not have a lot of possession, and were giving up too many passes in their defensive zone. It resulted in two quick goals for St.Lawrence, from Sonya Sandhu and Tori Shafer. Moore was quick to call a timeout after the second goal.

“I just wanted to know what was happening,” Moore said. “I wanted to make sure each of the girls on the team knew who they were supposed to be marking, and I wanted to know if everyone knew exactly where they were supposed to be. It was more logistical thing at that point, trying to get everyone on the same page.”

Two more goals came through for St. Lawrence, going up 5-0 with 24:13 left in the game. Shaffer got her hat trick between the two goals, but merely a couple minutes later, captain Monica Harvey went down with an injury, nothing too serious according to Moore.

“She’s fine,” Moore said. “Just a muscle cramp.”

The Lakers would finally score, after a goalie change with 20:15 left, with a little less than six minutes to go in the game. Riley Mallet would get her first of the season, unassisted, to avoid the shut-out against St. Lawrence.

With the Lakers home opener out of the way, they now look toward the Elmira College Soaring Eagles on September 13. Elmira (0-2) will be looking for their first win. But, it’ll be a couple hard days of practice for the Lakers, looking for that same goal.

“I gotta watch film first,” said Moore. “But hopefully it’ll end up well.”

Photo: Cole Parzych | The Oswegonian