OSWEGO, N.Y. – No.1 Oswego Women's Lacrosse returned to home turf this afternoon to host the No.4 Buffalo State Bengals in the 2025 SUNYAC semi-final. Looking to continue their 11-game win streak and spotless SUNYAC record alive today, the Lakers showed their determination from the opening draw, but so did the Bengals. A low-scoring first quarter would leave much to be desired in the 2nd quarter. Oswego's mere 1-goal lead could not stand the test of time, as they spent much of the second trying to break a tied scoreline, pulling out a 6-5 lead heading into halftime. Determined to set the tone in the third quarter, the Bengals came out hot, putting the pressure on the Lakers at both ends of the field. Undeterred Oswego managed to pull ahead 11-7 entering the final frame. Not ready to give up yet, Buffalo State responded promptly with 6 goals mounting a 14-12 lead as the clock ticked down. Putting their nose to the grindstone, Oswego notched not only 2 goals to tie the game 14-14, but a final free-position goal, punching their ticket to the 2025 SUNYAC Championship with a 15-14 victory over the Bengals.  

THE BASICS 
 
Final Score:  

Oswego 15 (14-2, 10-0 SUNYAC) 

Buffalo State 14 (12-7, 5-5 SUNYAC) 

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

Anticipating a dominant opening faceoff performance by the Lakers, Buffalo State would stand ready on defense shutting down an initial shot attempt by Julia Quirk. A nice surge by sophomore Cassidy Croce would force two Bengals to commit an early shooting space foul, giving her the first free-position attempt of the game. Without hesitation, Croce would let one rip right off the whistle but opposing netminder Brielle Lum was just as quick to shut it down. A successful clear would grant the Bengals possession but Laker Sophie Ruschin would not relinquish that easily, forcing a turnover to send Oswego back on offense. A series of shots from Quirk, Hill, and Winn would continue to test Lum early on, but the score would unfortunately remain tied 0-0. A blatant cross-check, in the heat of a groundball battle, would take down Sadie Zemanick and send Buffalo midfielder, Emilee Josker, to the box giving Oswego a primary man-up advantage. As play returned to even-strength the board would remain scoreless, until Bengal Kira Grzechowiak notched the first tally at 6:25. Undeterred by Buffalo's lockdown defensive effort, Alexis Hill responded promptly with an equalizer at 4:57. A few minutes later, Julia Quirk would redeem her unsuccessful takes with a goal at 2:17 to put the Lakers up 2-1 heading into the second quarter. 

A starting draw controlled by Madison Davis would give Oswego some momentum in the beginning minutes of the 2nd quarter, but Brielle Lum continued to stand tall, rejecting a compilation of early shots generated by the Laker offense. Another physical ground ball battle would send Sophie Ruschin to the box, handing Buffalo their first man-up advantage of the game and a second goal at 11:38, scored by conference point leader Vanessa Willick. A few minutes later Emilee Josker would regain a 1-goal lead for the Bengals, but Julia Quirk wasted no time tying the game back up 3-3 just 0:47 seconds later at the 7:19 mark. Making the best of the increasing level of physicality, Mackenzie Winn and Alexis Hill would tack on two free-position goals to pull ahead 5-3 at 3:34. Not ready to lay down just yet, the Sage Running Rabbit came back swinging with two back-to-back goals to level the playing field 5-5 with 2:25 remaining in the first half. As time began to quickly expire, first year Aubrianna Green would have the last laugh, notching a sixth goal just before halftime.  

Determined to regain a lead, Buffalo State came out hot in the third quarter, striking first at 13:53. A following draw control by Winn would allow the Lakers to attain offensive positioning, but a cohesive Bengal defense made it difficult for them to connect on their systems. A hard drive from X by Alexis Hill would not be an easy feat, fighting off two defenders before finding the back of the net at the 11:36 mark. As the 3rd quarter continued to unfold, both programs would trade green cards and goals, with neither team showing signs of letting up. A man-up possession for the Bengals would be disrupted by netminder Alana Iacovissi who would pass it out to Aubrianna Green. Using her speed to burn by Buffalo, Green found the stick of Cassidy Croce on the run, giving her a breakaway and her first of the game at 6:38. Buffalo would use a timeout call to collect themselves, but the intensity of the game would get the better of them in the following minutes as they would face 2 consecutive penalties. Making good on their Oswego's extended powerplay, would be Mackenzie Winn, pocketing a 10th goal at 4:28. As the clock began to tick down, Oswego did not waver, extending their lead to 11-7 entering the final frame.  

A final opening draw would fall in favor of the Lakers, but the Bengals still managed to improve the scoreline with an eighth goal at 13:12. Fighting hard to maintain their 4-goal lead, Green would sneak one past the leg of Lum to make it 12-8 at 9:39, but this would be no match for Buffalo State's impending 6-goal rath, putting them at a 14-12 advantage. As tensions ran high and the clock began to run low, Mackenzie Winn took inspiration from Willick's impressive quarterly 4-goal scoring effort, tying the score 14-14 with a pair of goals and leaving a winner to be determined by a free-position shot taken by Alexis Hill. A nifty high-to-low move by Hill would fake out Brielle Lum, punching Oswego's ticket to the 2025 SUNYAC Championship with a 15-14 win over the Buffalo State Bengals. 

WHAT'S NEXT 

Oswego Women's Lacrosse will host the SUNY Cortland Red Dragons in the 2025 SUNYAC Championship this Saturday, May 3rd in Laker Turf Stadium. The opening draw is set to commence at 1:00 PM. Go Lakers! 

Written By: Matilda Pethrick 

 
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