Gastonia, NC - The women's soccer team ended their season this week with their first ever trip to the national tournament making program history. No. 5 Onondaga's first contest took place Tuesday, November 7th against the No. 4 Suffolk County Sharks out of Long Island for an Empire State Showdown.

Tuesday's mid to upper 70 degree weather on brand new facility in Gastonia made for a beautiful day for soccer. The No. 4 vs No. 5 matchup lived up to the hype with a neck-and-neck battle between the two teams. The Sharks immediately found themselves a scoring opportunity shortly after kickoff going one on one with Goalkeeper Mikalah Bliss with amazing save early on to keep it scoreless. The Lazers found their first opportunity 15 minutes in on a free kick just outside the goal line from Freshman Rosa Stasyuk just barely saved by the Suffolk keeper. Harmony Russell beat her defender to go one on one with the Sharks goalie who had another crucial save again 25 minutes in. The two teams found even scoring opportunities in the first half for a very even matchup. The Lazers dodged a bullet after Bliss went down on a collision 30 minutes in, but bale to remain in the game after a minute of recovery. The Lazers had an indirect free kick inside the box for a big opportunity with 10 minutes remaining the in the first on a Suffolk foul, but were unable to convert before halftime, keeping the game a tight 0-0. Both teams had 5 shots on goal in the half.

The second half took off still at an even back and forth battle with neither teams able to capitalize on opportunities. The Sharks nearly went up on the board first nailing a shot right off the post in the 55th minute.
A soon after yellow card on the Sharks gave the Lazers a free kick right outside the box taken by Brenna Mast, but was kicked right into the Shark wall remaining 0-0 with time continuing to go down. Taken down field by the Sharks, an awkward spinning ball would bounce over the head of Bliss for Suffolk's first goal. This misfortune for Onondaga would lead to another Suffolk goal immediately following, this time on a drive right down the field for a legitimate shot on goal to put the Sharks up 2-0 with 10 minutes remaining and completely changing the situation of the game in a matter of 45 seconds. Unable to scrape back, time ran out on the Lazers chance for a National Championship title taking a 0-2 loss to the Suffolk County Community College Sharks.

Another 80 degree and sunny morning awaited the Lazers as they returned to CaroMont Health Park at 11am on Thursday for a consolation game against the No. 8 Ocean County Vikings for their final match of the season. 

The Vikings were first up on the board scoring on a corner kick in the 17th minute. After a physical 30 minutes of play on both ends, Brenna Mast went down on a Viking foul earning the Lazers a free kick and a chance to tie it up. Unable to convert, the physical play remained in a back and forth battle. Another Viking foul earned the Lazers another free kick from Rosa Stasyuk that found the foot of Lynnae Russell and Harmony Russell for a Lazer goal. The goal was then called back on an off-sides call, still trailing 0-1. The Vikings found another opportunity on a drive down the field, beating the defense and going one on one with Bliss, an Ocean goal bounced off the post for a 2-0 lead over the Lazers to enter halftime.

Onondaga entered the second half with some urgency as their last 45 minutes of the season were among them. Even scoring opportunities continued for both teams as the Lazer defense had a strong performance trying to keep the gap small as they tried to find their first goal. But the Vikings offense continued to find chances and scoring their third goal in the 77th minute. The 3-0 lead hardly reflected the even stat line of 8 shots and 4 shots on goal for both teams in the 80th minute. The Lazers found their first goal in national tournament history coming off the foot of Brenna Mast on the 81st minute off a corner kick from Rosa Stasyuk credited with the assist. The 3-1 score would solidify the final to end Onondaga's run at the 2023 National Tournament.

The Lazers end the 2023 season 13-4-1 as Mid-State Athletic Conference Champions and Region III District B Champions with several members named to the All-Conference and All-Region teams.

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