The Oswego State men's lacrosse team trailed RIT by two goals at halftime, but the Lakers were out-scored 9-1 in the second half as they suffered a 15-5 loss on Wednesday afternoon in Rochester. Sophomore midfielder Britt Leone (Schenectady, N.Y.) led Oswego State with three goals and an assist followed by senior Dan Scarazzo (Fairport, N.Y.) added a goal and two assists, while eight different Tiger players registered goals. The Lakers, who fell to 1-3 overall, will return to action next Wednesday against St. Lawrence in Canton, N.Y. RIT improved to 3-2 overall after out-shooting Oswego State 58-21.

The Tigers tallied three first-period goals before Oswego State answered with three goals of its’ own capped off by a man-up goal by Britt Leone to even the score at 3-3 with 3:50 left to play in the first half.  The final minute of the second period proved to be very exciting as RIT scored three goals and Scarazzo netted a goal for the Lakers to bring the score to 6-4 at halftime.

Nazareth held a two-goal lead in the first period before Bobby Pattridge (So., Henrietta, N.Y.) pulled Oswego State to within one goal after receiving a pass from Eric Zerrahn (Jr., Oswego, N.Y.) with 8:45 remaining in the frame.  The score stood at 2-1 before the Golden Flyers posted four goals in the final eight minutes of the first half.

Andy Lever got the Laker scoring started 3:14 into the game with an unassisted goal as Oswego State received two more goals from Bobby Pattridge (So., Henrietta, N.Y.) and Brad Teal (So., Williamsville, N.Y.) over the next four minutes.  SUNY Maritime struck with 14 seconds left on the clock in the first period to cut the Laker lead to 3-1, which was where the score stood at halftime as well.

Senior Nick Zoyhofski (Hamburg, N.Y.) recorded the game’s first goal for Oswego State, but the Rams responded with five straight goals before heading into the second quarter with a 6-2 lead.  The Lakers countered by notching the first three goals of the second frame starting with a goal by senior captain Dan Scarazzo (Fairport, N.Y.) 1:14 into the stanza.  Oswego State tallied six more goals to knot the game at nine goals each at halftime.

The 2009 season was filled with success for the Oswego State men’s lacrosse team. The Lakers finished third in the always tough SUNY Athletic Conference with a 5-2 conference record en route to a record six Lakers receiving All-SUNYAC recognition, and Coach Witmer being named the SUNYAC Coach of the Year. Mike Recor was named USILA Honorable Mention All-American and First Team All New York State, while Mike Brewster was selected to play in the prestigious USILA North-South Game.

The 2010 season brings new challenges.  Oswego State has lost five of their top six scorers, including Brewster and Recor, who combined to score 90 points, leading the SUNYAC coaches to select the Lakers to finish fifth this spring.