By: Aiden Locke
BROCKPORT, NY--- The Brockport Golden Eagles women's lacrosse team got an important win against SUNYAC foe Oswego. Brockport came into the game following a tough 11-8 defeat to New Paltz on Saturday.
This contest didn't start the way Brockport had hoped. Oswego opened the first quarter with a 5-0 run that lasted over ten minutes. Each Laker goal was scored by a different player. The slow start for Brockport was caused by lost draw controls combined with inefficient offense. The extra possessions early on for Oswego were the early difference.
Despite the poor start, Brockport was able to respond thanks to a first-quarter goal scored by junior midfielder Alayna Foos. Foos and first-year attacker Tristan Davis did most of the heavy lifting to get Brockport back into the game.
"We are really focused on playing for each other," Brockport head coach Bryana Glasser said. "Making sure we collectively came out and just turned the page and take it one play by one play."
Glasser called a timeout during the Oswego run. Coming back into play Brockport cleaned up some of their early mistakes and turned the corner of the first half. Glasser has shown a unique ability to fire up her offense after slow starts, multiple times this season the Golden Eagles have been able to go on a run following a timeout.
The second quarter started off with a quick four-goal run for Brockport. Davis scored three out of four with Foos getting her second goal of the game. All four of these goals came within five minutes of each other. The goals didn't come easily, Davis and Foos scored their goals from tough angles with Oswego defenders applying heavy pressure.
"It's really hard to guard us," Glasser said. "We have a lot of potent offensive players...We have been working on getting our hands free and shooting and I'm just really proud of it."
Oswego broke the five-goal Brockport run via senior midfielder Sela Wiley. Junior midfielder Sarah Kilburn scored a pair of goals in the second quarter as well to kickstart a three-goal Brockport run to end the first half. Foos would cap off the second quarter scoring by bagging her third of the game.
"We just really wanted it," Kilburn said. "Coming out of the timeout everyone just felt 110% the rest of the game and it really worked out for us, we all clicked together really well today."
Following a 7-1 second quarter for Brockport, the second half calmed down a bit for both sides. Brockport first-year goaltender Arianna Reed made multiple saves to keep the Laker offense at bay. Reed finished with 11 saves with just ten goals allowed following a tough opening quarter.
"Resiliency is the number one thing that makes and creates championship teams," Glasser said. "I'm really proud that no matter what the scoreboard says we never quit and finally these kids are starting to have each other's backs."
Foos scored her 100th career goal late in the third quarter off of a free position shot. She finished with a game-leading six points. More history was made in this matchup as graduate attacker Cassidy Burnash passed Julia Decker, an '09 graduate for sole possession of 5th place in all-time goal scoring. Burnash has 142 career goals following the win.
The second half went back and forth as both teams found the back of the net at a solid rate. Brockport scored three goals in both the third and fourth quarters while Oswego scored twice in both quarters. Ultimately Brockport's explosive second quarter and well-rounded second half was enough for them to get revenge on Oswego after losing 9-7 in 2023.
Brockport now turns their attention to another SUNYAC opponent in the Potsdam Bears. Brockport traveled to the north country and won the matchup 14-3 in 2023. Brockport has won four of their last five heading into the home contest against Potsdam and sit in third place in the SUNYAC standings as of Apr. 4. Brockport looks to keep their momentum at home on Saturday.