ROCHESTER, N.Y. – Oswego Men's Soccer kicked off their 2024 season this afternoon with a non-conference match against the Nazareth Golden Flyers.  

THE BASICS 
 
Final Score: Oswego 3 (1-0, 0-0 SUNYAC), Nazareth 2 (0-1, 0-0 Empire 8) 
Location: NLPA Field | Rochester, N.Y. 
 
HOW IT HAPPENED 

A slow back-and-forth start to the match gave both teams an opportunity to settle in at both ends of the field. Oswego and Nazareth traded fouls but play remained 50/50 in the center of the field. The Lakers gained a throw-in which Tajay Ellis managed to head in the direction of Senior forward Chris Smith. Smith one-timed the ball past the Nazareth goalkeeper Logan Menna, securing Oswego's first goal of game and of the season at 11:21. The Lakers' offensive surge would quickly be remedied by the Golden Flyers, as Braden Callahan sent a cross pass to teammate Spencer Neil who headed the ball through the hands of Laker netminder Andre Bourjolly at 13:49. A lock-down defensive effort would deny Neil a second goal in the following minute and shut down Nazareth's corner kick opportunity. Oswego continued to chip away on offense but could not break the 1-1 scoreline. A foul called in the final minutes of 1st half play would award the Lakers a free kick opportunity, but it would unfortunately be saved once again by keeper Logan Menna. The opening half would close out with the score remaining tied 1-1.  

The second half was almost a spitting image of the first. Oswego Midfielder Ian Husselback would put an end to the slow start with a goal assisted by Kyle Gehnrich at 57:30, improving the score to 2-1 in Oswego's favor. Despite the Lakers jump, Nazareth forward Jake Pawlika wasted no time, scoring one minute later at 58:30 to tie the game up once again 2-2. The back-and-forth nature of the opening half persisted throughout the 2nd until Ethan Caruana made his way into Nazareth's defensive box, sending Chris Smith on a mini breakaway on which he would capitalize, notching his second of the game off a sliding shot at 72:16. Despite both teams having multiple corner kicks and shooting opportunities the final 15 minutes, play would remain scoreless giving Oswego a 3-2 victory in their season opener over the Nazareth Golden Flyers.  

WHAT'S NEXT 

Oswego Men's Soccer will return to the pitch on Tuesday, September 3rd in Hamilton, N.Y. where they will face off against the Hamilton College Continentals at 4:30 PM.  

Written By: Matilda Pethrick 

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