The Oswego State men's lacrosse team dropped a 9-8 game to Utica College on Saturday afternoon in Oswego. The Lakers are now 1-4 on the season. The following game recap is published with permission from The Palladium-Times.

The number 1 is becoming a curse for the Oswego State men's lacrosse team.

One shot and one goal has been the difference in two losses for Oswego State this season. The Lakers dropped their second one-goal game Saturday at home to Utica College, 9-8.

Oswego State staged a resilient comeback in the second half, making the narrow defeat that much more difficult to swallow. Trailing 6-2 at the half, the Lakers outscored Utica 6-3 in the final two quarters and led 8-7 before the Pioneers rallied late in the fourth quarter.

"We are just going to keep working," senior captain Chris Mitchell of Oswego said. "It's our second one-goal loss. Hopefully they start going our way soon."

Sophomore attackman John Schumacher led Oswego State with three goals, which were all scored in the second half. Senior attackman Jeff Salisbury, another Oswego resident, added two goals and two assists. Mitchell also notched two goals.

Prior to Saturday's game, Oswego State (1-4) and Utica (4-1) had been bitten by one-goal losses to the same team. Hamilton beat the Lakers 8-7 on March 11 and nipped the Pioneers 11-10 in overtime last week, as Utica let a 9-7 lead after three quarters slip away.

The same almost happened Saturday.

Utica picked up nearly every ground ball in sight in the first and second quarters, allowing the Pioneers to dominate possession. Despite controlling the ball and time, Utica scored only in short bursts.

Kory Buckley put Utica ahead 1-0 at 10:03 in the first quarter and Nick Evanoff fired in a shot less than a minute later. In the second quarter, Utica barraged Oswego State with three goals in just over a one-minute span. A 2-1 advantage ballooned to a 5-1 cushion. The Pioneers led 6-2 at the half.

"I think we got caught on our heels," Oswego State coach Dan Witmer said. "We made some bad plays defensively. Next thing you know, we're facing off again."

The deficit and lull in Oswego State's play in the first half did not deter the Lakers from thinking they could make a run in the second half.

"We knew we were just as good as them," Mitchell said.

And the Lakers played like they were the better team in the final two quarters. They pounced on the ground balls as the offense flowed, and the defense made crucial stops.

Schumacher began the rally with consecutive goals at 11:55 and 7:20. Salisbury assisted on the first score, sending a short pass across the crease and Schumacher batted to ball down with his stick. The second goal was delivered from point-blank range. The Lakers' deficit was cut to 6-4.

"We were executing," Witmer said. "Offensively we finished some chances that we didn't finish in the first half. We made good checks and picked up ground balls."

Utica broke up the scoring at 2:30 with a goal by Tom Collins, but the Lakers responded with four straight goals. When Mitchell curled around the defense from left to right and put in his second goal at 9:05 in the fourth quarter, Oswego State led for the first time at 8-7.

"I think we underestimated Oswego," Utica coach Michael Parnell said. "They are a good team and our guys got complacent."

The lead was short-lived. Steve Schoen flicked a shot behind his back from the right side of the cage to even the game at 8-8 with 8:49 left.

Brandon Kaminski tallied the game-winner for Utica with 3:49 to go.

"We've been in a slump since our first game," Salisbury said. "We're trying to work things out and get sharper."

"I told the team that if you look at the second half, we dominated," Witmer said. "As frustrating as the loss is, hopefully the second half is going to be what sticks in their minds."

Oswego State hosts Keuka on Wednesday at 4 p.m.