Women’s soccer disposes of Potsdam in first round of SUNYAC playoffs
In what looked like a rerun of the regular-season finale 6-1 win, the Oswego State women’s soccer team defeated SUNY Potsdam 5-1 to advance to the second round of the SUNYAC playoffs.
The Lakers used four different goal scorers to overwhelm the lowest-seeded SUNY Potsdam team to punch their ticket to the second round for a date with the SUNY Oneonta Red Dragons. It is the first time since 2023 that the Lakers have made it to the second round of the conference playoffs.
Lakers head coach Brian McGrane signified the playoff win as a step in the right direction for this year’s relatively fresh group of players.
“I think it’s huge because it’s a home game and we got the win. Two, this is a really brand-new group. We replaced nine starters from last year’s team, so anytime you get a win at home in the postseason, I think the team gains confidence as the postseason continues,” McGrane said.
On the pitch, the Lakers took the lead just 45 seconds into the game courtesy of sophomore Olivia Davis’s second goal of the season, but Oswego wasn’t done with the early offensive explosion as Kyla Sustad added a goal of her own from the slot on a tic tac toe passing play from Davis and Elizabeth Cignranelli, making it 2-0 Lakers towards the half way point of the first half.
Oswego held most of the time of possession in the first frame, leading to multiple high danger chances, but at the tail end of the first half, midfielder Julia Carter found the back on a rising shot that hit the far right corner of the net to make it a three-goal advantage for the Lakers, ending a dominant first half up on the scoreboard and in shot attempts 17-6.
The Lakers made it four unanswered early in the second half when Sustad scored five minutes into the second half, but just 11 minutes later, Adrianna Orlando would get her eighth of the season for the Bears to cut the Lakers lead to three, but it was just too little too late for Potsdam.
Sabrina Schmitt put the final nail in the coffin for the bears with a goal at the 71-minute mark of the game, giving the Lakers their fourth goal scorer of the game, something McGrane was excited about after the match.
“We have had some games where we haven’t been successful scoring goals and we’ve had a lot of opportunities from certain players and they haven’t been able to find the back of the net,” McGrane said. “So the last couple of games to be able to do that, you can tell their confidence level was high.”
Sustad led the Lakers with two goals and seven shots, with four being on goal. Solange Catano-Matip recorded two assists. Schmitt finished with her team’s leading sixth goal.
The Lakers have another game ahead of them on Saturday when they head down to SUNY Oneonta to take on the No. 4 seed Red Dragons for a 2 p.m. kickoff. The winner of that matchup will play either Plattsburgh State or SUNY Cortland in the SUNYAC semifinals.
Cameron Shutts
Cameron is the Treasurer, Assistant Sports Editor, and Student Association Senator representing The Oswegonian. He is majoring in journalism with a minor in political science.