SUNY Potsdam Athletics

SUNY Potsdam senior women's soccer player Brooke Falsion (Brockport, N.Y./Brockport) has been named a 2018 United Soccer Coaches NCAA Division III All-American. Falsion, who was named to the third team, is the Bears women's soccer program's first ever All-American. She is the 58th student-athlete to be so honored in the College's history and just the third woman.
 
This season, Falsion earned first team All-SUNYAC and SUNYAC Offensive Player of the Year honors after winning the conference scoring and goals titles with 41 points and 17 tallies.  
 
"I'm so pleased for Brooke as she is extremely deserving of this honor," said Bears eighth year head coach Mark Misiak. "Although she's supremely talented, people outside our program have no idea how professional, hardworking and humble she really is. I'm sure if you asked Brooke about the award, the first thing she would mention is how much her teammates mean to her. It goes without saying that we'll miss her out on the pitch, but it's what she did and how she carried herself off the field that we'll miss even more."
 
In addition, to watching Falsion dominate opponents in 2018, Bears fans saw her chase the program's all-time scoring record. Entering the season, the midfielder needed 34 points to catch Potsdam Hall of Famer Jodi Ziemba '07 at 102. That many points in a season had only been done one other time in Potsdam women's soccer history and Falsion's previous single-season high was 29. However, on October 13, at Oneonta, she picked up an assist to give her 103 career points. She went on to add six more points to establish a her program record of 109. Falsion also claimed Potsdam's all-time goals and game-winning goals records with 46 and 12, respectively.
 
Falsion's arrival on campus in the fall of 2015, along with her fellow members of the Bears Class of 2019, marked a turning point in program history. In the 28 previous seasons of the women's soccer program, Potsdam only had two winning campaigns. The Class of 2019 never had a losing record, winning 44 games in four years. The group and the three following classes, propelled the Bears to new heights. They established single-season program records for wins, conference wins, winning percentage and goals-against-average. In Falsion's final two seasons, Potsdam reached the SUNYAC Playoffs twice, won its first ever playoff game and reached the conference semifinals for the first time.
 
Falsion is the first Bear since men's lacrosse goalie Ryan Duffy '14 to earn All-American status. She also joins cross country runner Jodie Schoppmann-Robertson '06 (2004) and diver Kari Herlihy '01 (2000) as the only women All-Americans in Potsdam history.