OSWEGO, N.Y. – No.2 seed Oswego Men's Lacrosse returned to Laker Turf Stadium to host the No.3 Oneonta Red Dragons for a long-awaited rematch in the first round of the 2025 SUNYAC Playoffs. Knowing the Dragons have their sights on redemption, the Lakers strapped in for a physical back-and-forth battle. A lackluster start by Oswego would have them chasing Oneonta's early lead for much of the first quarter, but as the Lakers settled into the pace of play, they began to find some momentum on offense, closing out the first half trailing 6-3. After a brief halftime, the Dragons picked up right where they left off, continuing to lengthen their lead in the beginning minutes of the third quarter. Just as Oneonta began to run away with a 5-goal lead, the Lakers put their nose to the grindstone, pocketing 4 goals to improve the scoreline to 8-7 just before the final frame. Undeterred by Oswego's late offensive surge, the Dragons remained consistent on offense, tacking on four more goals in the fourth quarter, punching their ticket to the 2025 SUNYAC Championship with a 12-8 victory over the Lakers.  

THE BASICS 
Final Score:  

Oswego 8 (10-5, 6-2 SUNYAC) 

Oneonta 12 (9-9, 6-2 SUNYAC) 

Location: Laker Turf Stadium | Oswego, N.Y. 
 
HOW IT HAPPENED 

A hot start by the Red Dragons would leave the Lakers little time to settle in, gaining an immediate offensive opportunity off the opening faceoff. Despite an unsuccessful initial attempt, it did not take long for Oneonta to secure the first tally of the game at 13:22. Wasting no time, the Dragons would continue to set the tone, adding a 2nd goal just over a minute later at the 12:45 mark. Logan Prescott would finally find his legs, earning his first faceoff win of the game on the following play and running it downfield into Oneonta's zone where Garrett Elston found the back of the net, kicking off scoring for the Lakers at 11:56. A few minutes later, Gavin Elston would be taken down by an illegal body check that would send opposing defenseman Hunter Busch to the box, awarding Oswego with a 2-minute man-advantage. Oneonta netminder, Mark Restivo, would disrupt a dominant Laker possession with a series of big saves, finding his teammates in the midfield with a successful clear. Despite a few solid chances at both ends of the field, play would remain scoreless for 9 increasingly physical minutes. This dry spell would persist until Vincent Tirino snuck one through the five-hole of Seamus Hand at 2:51, extending Oneonta's lead to 3-1 heading into the 2nd quarter.  

Logan Prescott would earn instant possession on the second starting faceoff due to a faceoff violation by Stephen Barikyan, a few quick passes between Prescott and his offensemen would set up Elston and O'Connor to release a pair of shots on Restivo right off the bat, but neither would breakthrough. A back-and-forth sequence of beginning minutes would come to a head when Vincent Herbstman collected a 4th goal for the Dragons at 10:35. Determined to lessen Oswego's deficit, Corey O'Connor worked swiftly to respond, notching a goal just 0:35 seconds later at the 10:00 mark. Undeterred, Oneonta continued to churn out offense, finding a fifth goal with 6:23 remaining in the first half. Colton Maher would be charged with an unnecessary roughness penalty on the next play, giving Oneonta their first man-up opportunity of the game, but all quality chances would be shut down by a cohesive Oswego defense. As the Lakers returned to even strength and offense, the older of the Elston brothers would absorb a handful more checks on his way to net, but would not be stopped, pocketing a third goal for the Lakers with 2:05 remaining in the first half.  

A second consecutive faceoff violation by Barikyan would award the Lakers with sudden possession once again, but not for long, with the Dragons resuming their scoring trend promptly at 12:51. A few moments later, Oneonta would lengthen their lead to 7-3 at 11:18. Keeping their foot on the gas, the Red Dragons tacked on a third unanswered goal, achieving a comfortable 8-3 lead at the 8:24 mark. As the Dragons began to run away with a 5-goal lead, the Lakers put their nose to the grindstone, pocketing 3 goals in just over a minute, improving the scoreline to 8-6 as the third quarter clock began to diminish. A lockdown defensive effort by Connor Aspinall would light a fire under his team and the crowd as his turnover would generate a prime offensive opportunity for Oswego, on which Garrett Elston would acquire a nifty top-shelf goal to close out the third quarter with the scoreboard standing at 8-7.  

Determined to lengthen the Dragons' lead, Tim Nevin did not hesitate to send a heater just above the head of Hand, securing a ninth goal at 13:59. Not ready to lay down just yet, Hayden Coney found a way to respond off a fade-away shot, just over two minutes later at 11:52. A clutch interception and clear by Gavin Elston would find the stick of Gavin Breen on the other side of the field, sending him on a breakaway that would unfortunately be ceased on the doorstep by Mark Restivo. As the Dragons regained offensive positioning, a hidden ball play executed by Oneonta would confuse the Laker defensemen, leaving Thomas Hnis wide open in front garnering a 10th goal at the 8:45 mark. Keeping their foot on the gas, Red Dragons star Jamie O'Neil added to his stat line with another goal at 6:13, to put his team up 11-8. As the clock began to tick down, an aggressive defensive effort by Seamus Hand would be a high risk and low reward, as a hard shot by Anthony Munro would find the bottom of an empty net at 2:31, punching Oneonta's ticket to the 2025 SUNYAC Championship with a 12-8 victory over Oswego.  

WHAT'S NEXT 

Oswego Men's Lacrosse closes out their 2025 season with an outstanding 10-4 overall record, going 6-1 in conference play. Best of luck to the Class of 2025 Seniors in their future endeavors and huge thank you to all the fans for your continued support! Go Lakers! 

Written By: Matilda Pethrick 

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