OSWEGO, N.Y. – Following a 2-0 loss at Clarkson to start the season, Oswego State (1-1-1) made a statement in their return to Laker Turf, defeating SUNY Poly in a 3-0 shutout.

Led by two goals from senior attacking midfielder Ian Husselbeck, the Lakers made it apparent that controlling possession and switching the field was their formula heading into the contest. Setting the tone was Aiden Lawrence, the Lakers’ starting left back, who showed off an impressive display of agility, physicality and footwork that yielded early set pieces for Oswego.

 “Work the other side!” Lawrence yelled to his teammates. 

SUNY Poly was on their heels early but stayed physical and held their defensive shape within the first 20 minutes of action to prevent conceding against the Lakers. 

But, like the age-old saying, too much of a good thing usually isn’t good for you. Husselbeck took a huge hit from Wildcats center back, Jace James, resulting in a yellow card for James and a penalty kick for Husselbeck. With a swift shot past the outstretched glove of SUNY Poly goalkeeper Tyler Barth, the Lakers got on the board first. 

The early score dialed up the Lakers’ energy to 11, as they continued to find clean looks on goal that forced Barth to work overtime between the posts. 

A couple of Wildcats’ counterattacks began to open up, but were ultimately deterred by mistouches and offside calls. 

With ten and a half minutes remaining in the half, a slow-rolling pass from freshman Laker winger Jacob Bachrach eked its way through the Wildcats’ defensive claws to Vladmir Lavrynenko. The midfielder promptly slotted a beautiful entry pass to Husselbeck for his second goal of the game, giving the Lakers a 2-0 lead heading into the second half. 

Oswego finished the first half with 13 total shots, more than tripling their shot total of 4 in their season opener. 

However, the halftime break must have acted as a wake-up call for the Wildcats; they came out poised, calculated and dominant in the second half, quickly giving the Lakers a taste of their own first-half medicine and forcing Oswego to adjust defensively. 

The Wildcats’ biggest opportunity came eight minutes into the second half, as the SUNY Poly striker Elijah North took a huge hit in the box that appeared like a no-brainer future penalty kick. Some tough luck and a no-call from the referee sent the Wildcats into a doozy of disbelief, which was a recurrent theme throughout the second half as the Lakers’ defense began to make uncharacteristic fouls in their own defensive third. Nevertheless, Oswego’s defense was able to recover against the Wildcats.

After a yellow card was given to the Wildcats’ midfielder Jael Casimir, SUNY Poly did an excellent job of taking away scoring opportunities from the Lakers. 

The Wildcats gelled brilliantly in the midfield, taking away Oswego’s momentum and finding themselves with an immense scoring opportunity just minutes later. Wildcats’ forward Marcus Cole found himself one-on-one with Rose at the six, but gave the ball a tad too much power, hitting the crossbar and falling to his knees in disbelief. 

The bad luck wouldn’t stop there for SUNY Poly. Despite controlling the majority of possession in the second half, a shot from Aiden Lawrence deflected off the glove of Tyler Barth and resulted in an easy, lead-extending tap-in for Lakers’ freshman striker Dylan Manriquez.

As the final minutes counted down on the scoreboard, Oswego managed to stave off the Wildcats’ final, scrappy chances and take the victory at home. 

After the game, Lakers’ head coach Dan Kane, while pleased with the final stat line and victory, touched on what his team needs to improve upon. 

“We knew that they were going to press us [in the second half], and we were still a little late to react,” Kane said. “We missed too many tackles against a team that is great on the counter… but in saying that, we got a 3-0 win at home and we’re happy.” 

Husselbeck made it three goals in two games on Monday night when the Lakers took on Utica University. A tight contest that ended in a 1-1 draw, shots were a close 15-13 in favor of the Pioneers.

The Lakers will hit Laker Turf again on Sept. 12 when they host RPI at 2 p.m.