OSWEGO, N.Y. – Entering her fifth season at the helm of the Oswego State women's lacrosse team, coach Brandi Lusk feels that the program is right where she wants it.
 
“I've got a phenomenal group of student-athletes with great attitudes this year.  I can't speak highly enough of the athleticism, skill level, and the depth of the team,” Lusk said.  “After five years (of coaching), I would say I finally got it right, but I don't want to jinx it.”
 
The Lakers will boast a more balanced attack this season due to the increased athleticism and depth.  The sky is the limit for Oswego State, which is out to surprise teams in 2013. “The returners have improved immensely and our newcomers are just adding to that success and making everyone better.  I have so much fun coming to work and watching them challenge each other in practice,” Lusk said.
 
On the attack, the Lakers will experience life without two of the their top scorers in program history with the graduation of 2012 all-conference selection Erin Cummings and counterpart Rachel Raffa.  Nonetheless, Lusk is confident that the next crop of players will step up.
 
“We have more depth with the new recruits.  This year there are seven girls on the field at once who can score as opposed to just two.  I can't wait until we see how the games pan out and (other teams) can see who the leading scorers are so they think they can double one girl and leave openings for the rest of the players,” Lusk said.
 
The top returning threats from last season are seniors Danielle Citro (Miller Place, N.Y.) and Stephanie Cronk (Endwell, N.Y.), junior Courtney Cosentino (Syracuse, N.Y.) and sophomore Becky Guess (Burnt Hills, N.Y.).  Citro is the top returning scorer from last season when she tallied 13 goals, 11 assists, and 32 draw controls.  Cronk split time between attack and midfield, compiling six goals and 10 assists.  Cosentino and Guess combined for 13 goals and six assists in 2012.  Freshmen Erannan Shattuck (Syracuse, N.Y.) and Esther Gabriel (Lancaster, N.Y.) look to contribute immediately up front.
 
According to Lusk, the midfield is the strongest group the Lakers have fielded in her tenure.  All of the midfielders have the speed, stick skills, and aggressiveness that are needed for a winning formula.  Great things will be expected from the midfield both on the offensive and defensive ends of the field.
 
Cronk and fellow senior Michelle Ruskey (Deerfield, N.Y.), juniors Corinne Marsh (Endwell, N.Y.), Candice Tarana (Rochester, N.Y.), and Kaila Curatalo (Rochester, N.Y.) and sophomore Miranda Czechowski (West Seneca, N.Y.) come back to give the Lakers a talented midfield.  Ruskey played in every game in 2012, registering a goal and four assists. Marsh added nine goals and two assists, while tying for fourth on the team in caused turnovers (7). Tarana found the back of the net three times last season, while assisting on eight goals. Curatalo started every game while scoring five goals and dishing five assists. Czechowski totaled four points and 11 ground balls in her freshman season. Junior Mackenzie Kjerstad (Baldwinsville, N.Y.) and freshmen Lindsey Eggers (Ridge, N.Y.) and Jayme McCreary (Waterloo, N.Y.) will be competing for playing time in the midfield as well.
 
Defense served as a rough patch for the Lakers in 2012, where they gave up an average of 16.7 goals per game on the year. Lusk has the players working in practice to prevent the same mistakes from carrying over into the 2013 season.
 
“We're doing a lot more conditioning to help us make up for the mistakes we made last year,” Lusk said.  “We want to be a team that plays hard, double teams and extends on ball so girls can't pass around us.  We relied too much on our defense as a result of mistakes made by the midfield and attack and that's something we obviously need to fix.”
 
Junior captain Megan McNulty (Holbrook, N.Y.) returns to the starting lineup after missing nearly all of last season with an injury. The defense also returns juniors Elise Tartaglia (Liverpool, N.Y.), Ashley Curaba (Coram, N.Y.) and Alison Smith (Penn Yan, N.Y.) and sophomore Amanda Hagen (Coram, N.Y.). Tartaglia started every game and led the team with 32 ground balls and tied for the team lead with 16 caused turnovers last season. Curaba also started every game a season ago, while Smith and Hagen combined for 22 games played and three starts between them. Senior Shelly Bateman (Fulton, N.Y.), a three-time All-SUNYAC women's soccer player, looks to step in right away and apply her athleticism to the defensive end.
 
In net, senior captain Ashlee Engel (Webster, N.Y.) will miss the season following a knee injury. Engel ranks second in school history with 371 saves. Even with a three-year starter in Engel out for the season, Lusk has confidence in her two other netminders.
 
Senior Lauren Marois (Clifton Park, N.Y.) and junior Nikki Greco (Syracuse, N.Y.) both performed well in a scrimmage earlier in the spring against the University of Rochester.  Serving primarily as Engel's backup, Marois has produced in limited minutes over the course of her career, logging 60 saves in 12 games played. Greco transferred from Onondaga Community College, which won a national junior college championship in 2012.
 
Despite not qualifying for the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) Tournament since 2005, Lusk doesn't want the Lakers to look too far ahead.
 
“My motto this year is taking it one game at a time.  Of course we want to be in the top four of our conference; it's my personal goal as well as the players'.  We just have to take one game at a time and play smart lacrosse,” Lusk said.
 
Oswego State begins the season on the road when it travels to Rochester, N.Y., to take on RIT on Monday. The Lakers then travel to Florida for Spring Break and play two games, starting with Springfield at the Disney Spring Training ESPN Wide World Sports Complex on March 17 at 10 a.m. Oswego State hosts Fredonia to kick off SUNYAC play March 30 at 1 p.m.

2013 Roster
2013 Schedule
2012 Statistics