For Alexa Snyder, becoming a student-athlete for the Oswego State field hockey team has been nothing short of a long journey. 

Born in New Hampshire, Snyder discovered her love of field hockey through it being the only sport offered in the fall at her local community center. She started in second grade and has stuck with it ever since, creating lifelong friends through the game.

Fast-forward all the way to her junior year at Oswego, and Snyder has experienced all the ups and downs of being a student-athlete. And when it comes to the downs, one thing that she can lean on has remained constant: her teammates.

On days where Snyder is feeling stressed, unmotivated or tired, her teammates continue to push her to be the best possible version of herself. 

“We’re all very loud, uplifting and positive,” Snyder said. “If anyone’s having an off-day, it’s left at the door of the locker room because we let all other worries outside of field hockey stay outside of field hockey.”

The Lakers have become a tighter group by the day, Snyder says, with each and every member of the team lending their shared experiences to one another. 

“I truly love my teammates so much,” Snyder said. “We just have such a great team and we all have very different interests and personalities, but somehow we mesh very well together. I’m always learning more things from my teammates and I look forward to seeing them everyday.”

Snyder carries a second-team all SUNYAC honor from her freshman season to her name, alongside the assist on a game-winning goal against St. John Fisher University on Sept. 23, two years removed from her first season.

She mentions exactly that as the most memorable part of the 2026 campaign thus far. In a game that went to sudden death shootouts, the final goal for Oswego brought the whole team to rally together. 

She mentions that everyone wanted to vote for one another in their usual ‘Player of the Game’ sentiment after the thrilling contest. That continuity has helped Snyder herself develop into a leader during year three in the green and gold, compared to a quiet year one. 

“I’m definitely a lot more vocal,” Snyder said. “I was scared to talk in my freshman year and now I can’t stop talking. You don’t really realize that you are one of the upperclassmen on the team until everyone is like ‘Okay, what do we do next?’ and you know the answer.”

Off the field, Snyder carries herself with the same composure. The applied math economics major spends her days in the library, taking just as much pride in her studies as she does on Laker Turf, giving her NFHCA National Academic Squad and Academic All-District recognition last season. 

“I’m always in the library,” Snyder said. “I think I am very academically-inclined, and I typically don’t sit still – at least in-season. They [my teammates] would describe me as busy and involved.”

Aside from her academic workload, Snyder carries a busy schedule. Work, practice, film, lift sessions and more fill out her jam-packed days – yet, she has learned to handle it through the structure of being a student-athlete. 

“We’re lucky being a fall sport that you kind of have to get good at managing your time,” Snyder said. “We figure out our priorities, where you need to be and what you need to do.”

Overall, being a student-athlete has added an immense amount of positives onto Snyder’s college experience. 

“I don’t know how I’d go through college without being a student-athlete because of that routine,” Snyder said. “My days – and weeks – are planned out three months at a time, and then once you get out of season you have to figure out what you’re going to do.”

For Snyder and the Lakers, a rugged stretch awaits. A matchup with nationally-ranked No.2 Salisbury University is on the docket for Oct. 3, before seven more regular-season battles launch the team into the SUNYAC postseason.

‘Rugged’ is the keyword – to overcome it, though, you must have a strong supporting cast by your side, and Alexa Snyder has found just that at SUNY Oswego.