The Oswego State women's lacrosse team (8-8) made sure the season ended well, holding on late to defeat Elmira (8-9), 9-8, Tuesday afternoon, April 30, at South Athletic Field.
The game started slow with Elmira's Moorea Spoljaric and Jessica Blinkinsop scoring just twice in the first 12 minutes of play, while the Lakers struggled to develop any rhythm offensively due to turnovers.
Less than two minutes later, Oswego State's Danielle Citro (Sr., Miller Place, N.Y.) put the Lakers on the board, followed by markers from teammates Jayme McCreary (Fr., Waterloo, N.Y.), Mackenzie Kjerstad (Jr., Baldwinsville, N.Y.) and Brittany Koemel (Jr., Dexter, N.Y.) to put Oswego State up, 4-2.
Marissa Mongillo answered back, adding a marker of her own for the Soaring Eagles just under the 10-minute mark before Erannan Shattuck (Fr., Syracuse, N.Y.) cashed in on her 29th goal of the season with 25 seconds on the clock to send Oswego State into halftime ahead, 5-3.
The Lakers started the second half with a bang, as Megan McNulty (Jr., Holbrook, N.Y.) won a draw control that lead to Shattuck finding Esther Gabriel (Fr., Lancaster, N.Y.) to give Oswego State a three-goal advantage.
The Soaring Eagles came fighting back, adding three more goals before a Citro pass found Shattuck open to give the Lakers a one-goal cushion with 14:14 remaining in the game.
It continued to be a back-and-forth affair, as Elmira's Ashton Hogan tied the game a minute later before Oswego State's Candace Tarana (Jr., Rochester, N.Y.) broke the tie at the 9:55 mark. Elmira again let no time run off the clock before tying the game at eight, but the Lakers finally managed to distance themselves with markers from Kjerstad and Citro.
Hogan made it interesting though, as she scored once more for the Soaring Eagles with 41 seconds left in regulation. Elmira won the ensuing faceoff, but McNulty caused a turnover in the defensive zone with McCreary picking up the groundball to help Oswego State escape with the victory.
Mary Kate Gellerman made seven saves and allowed ten goals for the Eagles. Lauren Marois (Sr., Clifton Park, NY) started in the cage for the Lakers, making 12 saves and allowing nine goals.
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