Utica, NY - The Oswego Lakers men's lacrosse team traveled to Utica, NY on Saturday afternoon to take on the SUNY Polytechnic Institute Wildcats. 
 
Basics 
Oswego 13 (4-1, 0-0 SUNYAC)
Poly 6 (3-1, 0-0 Empire 8) 
Utica, NY | Peter A. Spina Field 
 
How it Happened 
The Lakers opened the game with Tyler Novak earning his first start of the season in goal and wasted little time establishing control. Austin Sroda won the opening faceoff to give Oswego the first offensive possession, setting the tone for an aggressive start.

Ethan McConnell struck first for the Lakers, finding the back of the net to make it 1–0 early. Garrett Elston added to the lead midway through the first quarter, finishing a scoring opportunity to put Oswego up 2–0. The Wildcats answered before the end of the period with a goal of their own, cutting the deficit to 2–1 heading into the second.

Oswego extended its lead early in the second quarter when Emmet Starowicz buried a shot to make it 3–1. However, turnovers and defensive penalties began to give the Wildcats opportunities, and they capitalized. The Wildcats rattled off four unanswered goals during the quarter, flipping the momentum and taking a 5–3 lead into halftime.

The Lakers responded quickly coming out of the break. Elston netted his second goal of the game early in the third quarter to bring Oswego within one at 5–4. Just minutes later, Elston struck again to complete the hat trick and tie the game at 5–5 midway through the period.

That equalizer sparked the Lakers on both ends of the field. Strong defensive possessions helped swing momentum back to Oswego, leading to two more goals before the end of the quarter. Trey Jones gave the Lakers the lead with a key finish, and Hayden Coney followed soon after to extend the run and send Oswego into the fourth quarter with a 7–5 advantage.

From there, the Lakers took full control.

Sroda won another crucial faceoff to open the final quarter, pushing the ball downfield where Doryn Leclair found Jones for a quick goal to make it 8–5. Leclair then added a goal of his own shortly after, extending the lead to 9–5.
A Wildcats penalty gave Oswego a man-up opportunity, and Starowicz capitalized, scoring his second of the day to push the advantage to 10–5. The Lakers' defense continued to shut down the Wildcats attack, allowing the offense to stay on the front foot.

Leclair struck again midway through the fourth to make it 11–5, and Jones followed with another goal moments later as Oswego continued to pour it on. Another Wildcats penalty opened the door for Logan Postel to score on a man-up opportunity, extending the lead to 13–5.

The Wildcats managed a late goal during a man-up situation of their own, but the surge was far from enough to slow the Lakers. Oswego closed out the game with another goal to secure a dominant 14–6 victory.
 
What's Next
The Lakers will be home next Wednesday March 18th to take on the Utica University Pioneers at 5:00 PM.