OSWEGO, N.Y. - The Oneonta women's lacrosse team battled back to tie the game at halftime, but a strong second half by Oswego led to a 9-2 setback on the road Friday afternoon. With the loss, Oneonta falls to 6-4Â overall and 3-2Â in conference play. The Lakers move to 8-4 and 5-0 in the SUNYAC.
Oswego jumped out to an early lead, scoring twice in the opening quarter, including a man-up goal midway through the period. Oneonta's defense, anchored by goalkeeper Margot Haring (Doylestown, PA/Central Bucks), kept things within reach despite early pressure, as Haring finished with nine saves on the day.
The Red Dragons responded in the second quarter behind the play of Ava Fitzsimons (Pearl River, NY/Pearl River). The sophomore attacker put Oneonta on the board with an unassisted goal at the 10:07 mark, then tied the game at 2-2 with 3:17 remaining in the half off an assist from Chelsea Dodenhoff (Islip Terrace, NY/East Islip). Oneonta generated consistent offensive looks in the period, outshooting Oswego and heading into the break with momentum.
Coming out of halftime, Oswego regained control. The Lakers scored twice in the third quarter to take a 4-2 lead, capitalizing on turnovers and limiting Oneonta's offensive opportunities.
In the fourth, Oswego pulled away with a five-goal surge, including two more tallies from Aubri Greene, who finished with a game-high four goals. The Lakers took advantage of several free-position chances and a pair of Oneonta penalties to extend their lead.
Fitzsimons led Oneonta offensively with two goals on seven shots, while Dodenhoff added an assist. Lindsey Townes (Yorktown Heights, NY/Yorktown) was active all over the field, recording a team-high seven ground balls along with four caused turnovers.
Overall, Oswego held advantages in shots (25-19), ground balls (23-16), and draw controls (8-5), while also forcing 21 Oneonta turnovers.
Oneonta next hosts New Paltz on Wednesday, April 8 at 4 p.m.
