Sophomore goalie Kevin O’Donnell has been red hot to start the season, as he is among the best in the SUNYAC in save percentage at .592. He has helped bring the Lakers’ lacrosse team to a 5-2 record to start the season, but attributes the play of his teammates to his early season success.

“Strong defense all around me and especially our man down percentage,” said O’Donnell on how he is playing at such a high level. “Overall, I think it’s our offense possessing the ball as well, defense and man up man down.”

As well as O’Donnell has been playing, head coach Drew Bezek thinks there are still ways to improve. 

“I think he has a lot of room to grow and a lot of room to get a lot better, as a ball stopper, as a communicator and also helping us clear the ball a little bit,” Bezek said. “He’s taken a lot of good strides this year, especially in the clearing game.”

For Bezek, the biggest thing about Kevin is his consistency.

“There is not a lot of highs, not a lot of lows. He shows up, does what he is supposed to. We can rely on him on a daily basis, and I think he’s continued to build on that and be a staple that we can have on our defensive end all year long.”

For O’Donnell, the road to Oswego State was a rather easy one, starting back in high school. 

“I’ve always been a goalie,” O’Donnell said. “My freshmen year, I split time with a senior on varsity, and then my sophomore year, I ended up taking the starting spot. I really think that helped me become the person and leader I am now.”

One of the biggest things that attracted O’Donnell to Oswego State was Bezek.

“After meeting with him, I could tell he knew what he was,” O’Donnell said. “When I visited, he was the most honest coach I have ever talked to. He told how it is and he told me what he thinks I need to work on. He was very straight up that he believed in [me] and he preaches that and I can see that it has all translated to what he shows and coaches today.” 

For Bezek, it was a match made in heaven when he saw O’Donnell at an event on Long Island.

“Obviously, we liked what we saw with the potential of what he was doing on the field,” Bezek said. “We were able to build a relationship and get him up to campus a couple times and felt like he would be the right type of person that we’re looking for our team. Everything matched with him academically, financially and [all] the pieces he was looking for [in] a school too.” 

It was a great choice for O’Donnell, as he feels his teammates are like family.

“I wouldn’t trade these boys for anything else,” O’Donnell said. “I think that our team chemistry is what makes us better, and that especially will lead us into SUNYACs and hopefully win our first SUNYAC championship.” 

O’Donnell expressed a similar sentiment for the city of Oswego.

“I think the fact that how close knit this community is with the college is very interesting to me, and that’s actually also an aspect that lead me here to this school,” O’Donnell said.  

O’Donnell and the Lakers are once again off to a 5-2 start to the season and are fourth in the SUNYAC. O’Donnell looks to continue his great start on Saturday against The College at Brockport in the Lakers’ first conference game of the year. 

Graphic by: Shea McCarthy | The Oswegonian