GENESEO, N.Y. – Oswego Men's Lacrosse traveled South to Geneseo this evening to kick off the first round of the SUNYAC Playoffs against the SUNY Geneseo Knights. After an unfortunate 15-6 loss to the Knights towards the tail end of the regular season, the Lakers were determined to keep their season alive in this rematch game. Similarly to their last meeting, the Knights got out to an early shutout-lead, which persisted through till the third quarter. Despite earning a double-digit lead over Oswego, Geneseo would not let up scoring. A late offensive push from the Lakers, was unfortunately a little too little too late, as Geneseo would advance to the SUNYAC final after a dominant 17-3 win over Oswego.  

THE BASICS 
 
Final Score: Oswego 3 (10-6, 5-3 SUNYAC), Geneseo 17 (12-6, 7-1 SUNYAC) 
Location: College Stadium | Geneseo, N.Y. 
 
HOW IT HAPPENED 

An opening faceoff win by Logan Prescott would send the Lakers up the field on the first turn on offense but would quickly find themselves in their defensive zone. A few solid saves by sophomore goalkeeper Seamus Hand would give his midfielders possession and a few shooting chances, testing Geneseo net minder Andrew Tittmann. An unnecessary roughness penalty on Jackson Cummings would award the Knights with a man-up opportunity, on which Ronnie Trebing would capitalize on at 9:10. Geneseo would win the following faceoff and strike again just under three minutes later at the 6:43 mark. The Lakers would earn their first man-up advantage of the game at 4:18 but were unable to breakthrough. As the final minutes of the 1st quarter ticked down, Geneseo maintained possession and would sneak one more behind Hand with just 9 seconds to go, closing out the quarter with a 3-0 lead.  

The Lakers would once again win the opening faceoff but would be quickly turned around as Geneseo wasted no time adding two back-to-back goals at 14:08 and 14:04, extending their lead to 5-0. A big check on Connor Aspinall would give Oswego a man-up opportunity but it would be returned to the Knights by Tittmann off a save. The score would remain un-phased until Geneseo midfielder Max Esposito ripped one in from the top of the zone at the 7:39 mark. A good transition by the Laker defense would give Oswego some time on offense, but a lockdown defensive effort from the Knights would make it difficult to get shots through to net. Geneseo would continue to dominate on offense adding a seventh goal to the scoreboard with 2:41 remaining in the half. William McCumiskey would close out scoring in the second with his fourth point of the game at 0:25, pushing a scoreline of 8-0. 

Geneseo would start the third just as they finished the 2nd, on offense. Despite their 8-goal lead the Knights did not let up, scoring another set of goals just a minute apart at 13:20 and 12:26. A persistent effort from both the Oswego defense and Seamus Hand would keep Geneseo at bay for a few minutes before McCumiskey secured a hat trick and an 11-0 lead. The Lakers continued to work towards Geneseo's net. Senior Liam Sexton finally put Oswego on the board at the 6:31 mark, stripping Tittmann of a shutout. The Knights would respond once again, just over two minutes later at 4:06. Geneseo would win the following face off, but Oswego would regain possession. Jason Dongelewic followed Sexton's initiative scoring a second goal at 1:56, improving the score to 12-2. The clock continued to tick down but that did not stop Geneseo's Jimmy Atkinson from notching a 13th goal with just 0:05 seconds left. 

Logan Prescott would win the final opening faceoff and move it up to Dongelewic who would be denied by keeper Andrew Tittmann. A strong clear from Tittmann would send the Knights back down on offense where they fixed a 14-2 lead at 12:19. The dominant offensive performance from Geneseo would persist throughout the fourth as they scored 3 more goals, pushing the score to 17-2 as the quarter ended fast. Three penalties on Oswego would give the Knights a major man-up advantage as the final minutes ticked down. Max Brodman would find the back of the net for a third and final goal for the Lakers with 1:06 remaining in the game. Despite a final offensive push by Oswego, it was a little too little too late, as the Knights will advance to the SUNYAC final after an imposing 17-3 win over the Lakers.  

WHAT'S NEXT 

This completes the 2024 season for Oswego Men's Lacrosse. The Lakers closed out this year with an overall record of 10-6, which includes a program record setting 9-game winning streak and multiple overtime victories.  

Written By: Matilda Pethrick 
 

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