The Oswego LC River Hawks box lacrosse team defeated the Virginia Golden Bears 24-10 last weekend, recording their first win in NABLL action.
The win came a day after the River Hawks played their closest game yet with the Utica Yeti, losing by a 14-8 final score.
“We’re getting there,” said player/head coach Chris Brim. “We’ve improved from a 21-goal loss, to a 12-goal loss, to a six-goal loss. And we’re not done with them yet.”
In Friday night’s game versus the Yeti at the Utica Auditorium, the home team jumped out to a 4-0 lead by the end of the first quarter, but the River Hawks rallied to tie the score at 4-4 behind two goals from player/assistant coach Dylan Donahue and two more from Oswego’s leading scorer, Will Hardy. However, Utica finished the second quarter on a three-goal run, and the Hawks trailed 7-4 at halftime.
The Yeti controlled the third quarter, outscoring Oswego 5-1 in that frame, with the lone Hawks goal coming from Cory Tilton. Still, the River Hawks battled till the end, getting goals from Hardy, Evan Kistner, and Donahue to round out the scoring. “We won the second quarter 4-3, and we won the fourth quarter 3-2,” said General Manager Dan Witmer. “Like Chris said, we’re getting better every game.”
On Saturday Oswego faced the Virginia Golden Bears, a team that went to the IBLA national championships in Florida last fall. With starting goalie Jack Beck unavailable, the River Hawks reached out across the border and registered Connor Waller from central Ontario. From the opening face-off, Waller impressed; he shut down Golden Bear shots and helped iinitiate the Hawks clear time after time.
And the rest of the team responded as well. Hardy put Oswego on the board first, followed by Czech National Team member Brian Witmer, who signed on for just this weekend’s two games before returning to Prague this week. Inspired by their own quick start, the Hawks offense and defense stepped it up, and the team led 5-2 after the first 15 minutes. The second quarter went even better, as Oswego outscored the Golden Bears 6-1. Evan Kistner had three goals, Hardy tallied again, and Luke Hoskin scored.
The second half saw the Virginia squad rally briefly, but they never got closer than five goals. Meanwhile, the River Hawks offense just kept humming. It was 15-7 after three quarters, and when it was all over, Hardy would finish with six goals, followed by Kistner (4), Oswego’s Jack Rice (4), Hoskin (4), Witmer (3), Thomas Berry (2), and Mason Blakemon (1). Waller proved to be a key acquisition, making 25 saves for the win.
The River Hawks return home this Friday, July 22, to host the Yeti one more time. Game time is set for 7 PM at the Crisafulli Rink at Fort Ontario. Admission is $5 for everyone 18 years of age or older; those under 18 get into the game for free.
Friday’s game will also serve as a fundraiser for the Garrett Dunsmoor Foundation, with 50/50 proceeds going to help support the organization.
On Sunday, Oswego travels down to the Onondaga Nation to play the Salt City Eels in a 1 PM contest. Last time out, the River Hawks lost a closely-contested 15-11 game to the Eels, a team that also participated in the IBLA championships in Folorida last September.
