Utica, N.Y. – The SUNY Poly men's lacrosse team fell at home Saturday afternoon as the Oswego Lakers used a strong second-half surge to pull away for a 13–6 victory. Despite a late first-half rally that gave the Wildcats the lead, Oswego controlled the final two quarters to secure the win. With the loss, the Wildcats fall to 3-1 on the season.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
Oswego came out with early pressure in the opening quarter, controlling the initial faceoff and generating several scoring chances. SUNY Poly goalkeeper Tyler Baisley was sharp early, making a series of saves to keep the game scoreless through the first few minutes. The Lakers eventually broke through at the 11:49 mark when Ethan McConnell finished a pass from Emmet Starowicz to give the home side a 1–0 lead.
Oswego doubled its advantage later in the quarter as Garrett Elston capitalized on a feed from Starowicz with 7:58 remaining. The Wildcats responded midway through the period when Luke Taylor found the back of the net off a pass from Ryan Carroll at the 6:38 mark, cutting the deficit to 2–1. SUNY Poly generated several late chances in the closing minute of the quarter, but Oswego goalkeeper Tyler Novak turned away a pair of shots to preserve the Lakers' one-goal lead after the first.
The Lakers extended their lead early in the second quarter when Starowicz scored unassisted at 12:54 to make it 3–1. SUNY Poly answered with a strong stretch midway through the frame, beginning with Ian Short scoring off an assist from Mitchell Taylor at the 6:21 mark. The Wildcats continued to capitalize on opportunities, tying the game at 3–3 when Luke Taylor converted a man-up chance with 4:36 remaining in the half, again assisted by Mitchell Taylor.
SUNY Poly carried the momentum the rest of the half. Taylor struck again with 3:27 remaining to give the Wildcats their first lead of the afternoon, and Casey Ryan added another goal off a setup from Kai Hew with 47 seconds left before halftime. The Wildcats entered the break holding a 5–3 advantage after scoring four unanswered goals in the second quarter.
Oswego responded in the third quarter with a decisive run. Garrett Elston cut the deficit to one at the 13:11 mark before tying the contest at 5–5 with his second goal of the period at 9:17. The Lakers then regained the lead when Trey Jones finished a pass from Starowicz with 6:13 remaining. Late in the quarter, Hayden Coney extended Oswego's lead to 7–5 off an assist from Jones with just 1:18 left in the period.
The Lakers carried that momentum into the final quarter and quickly created separation. Trey Jones opened the fourth-quarter scoring at the 14:01 mark off a feed from Doryn Leclair. Leclair then scored a goal of his own, assisted by Coney, before Starowicz added a man-up tally to push Oswego's lead to 10–5.
Oswego continued to build its advantage midway through the period as Leclair and Jones added additional goals during a quick scoring stretch. Logan Postel later converted on a man-up opportunity with 3:17 remaining to give the Lakers a commanding eight-goal lead.
The Wildcats were able to break through late in the game when Luke Taylor scored on a man-up opportunity with 1:53 remaining, assisted by Casey Ryan. SUNY Poly continued to press in the closing minutes, generating several shots, but Novak made the final save as Oswego closed out the 13–6 victory.
