SUNY Potsdam Athletics

Eric Soderquist was one of the most dangerous attackman in the SUNYAC from 2015 through 2018. He also proved to be one of the most talented scorers in SUNY Potsdam men's lacrosse history.
 
Growing up, Soderquist loved and tried to master every sport he attempted.
 
"I think my favorite things about sports in general are the competitiveness and the teamwork,"
 said Soderquist. "That's the fun part of sports. It's those little moments with your teammates and your family and the competitiveness that makes the bigger moments even better. Sports have highs and lows, but it's worth every second of it."
 
When he was young he played hockey and soccer along with lacrosse. Once he hit high school, Soderquist made the switch from soccer to football. However, it was lacrosse that was always his number one sport.
 
"The thing about lacrosse for me personally is that the technicality and the physicality reminded me of hockey and football put together," Soderquist said. "So that was one of the reasons it was my favorite sport."
 
When he reached high school, Soderquist's speed and ability were always on display for the Watertown Cyclones' football and lacrosse teams. The talent quickly drew the attention of college coaches. Utica, Brockport and Hartwick were interested in him as a two-sport athlete. The U.S. Military Academy reached out to him in 11th grade about lacrosse. Loyola University Maryland, Marquette, LeMoyne, Limestone and Cortland were some of the other's that came calling as well. Fortunately for Potsdam, the Bears had a recruiting advantage.
 
"The biggest thing that drew me to Potsdam was that (Coach Rick) Berkman was from Watertown," said Soderquist. "That connection with someone from your hometown is just something that's a little bit different than with coaches that aren't. He was always in contact, always in good spirits. He'd always talk to me. He made the path easy for me to choose because I trusted him. You just kind of knew that he would take care of you. You knew he'd be a great coach and more of a friend. That hometown connection was a big factor for me too because he loves Frontier League guys and he always treats them well. I knew from other people that went to Potsdam, there were a lot of good reviews about Berkman. So it was a pretty easy decision for me once I was in contact with him and visiting SUNY Potsdam."
 
When he arrived on campus in the Fall of 2014, Soderquist immediately joined his teammates playing pickup. He credits the experience as helping him work through the jitters. Fall Ball made him even more confident in his abilities, competing and meshing with his fellow Bears.
 
"Around that time, things were just kind of flowing well," Soderquist said. "Berkman and (Assistant Coach Todd) Kaiser were awesome. I got along with all my teammates and it made life a lot easier. Once I realized that I was good enough to be at this level, that's when I really knew that this was a great fit. And I thought I'd be able to be successful here."
 
The Bears entered the 2015 season with an abundance of talent in all positions from both veterans and newcomers. Potsdam opened against a strong Albright College team in Scranton. Soderquist scored his first career goal just 11:22 into the contest, but the Bears found themselves down 10-3 early in the second half. Potsdam roared back and Soderquist notched his second while the Bears were a man up at 14:27 of the fourth quarter and it was an 11-8 contest. With 3:54 remaining, he set up Ed Doherty to close within 13-12. Then with 32 seconds remaining, Soderquist found himself with a chance to tie the game. His shot rang off the pipe and Albright escaped with the one-goal win. Rather than let the missed opportunity shake him, Soderquist's play during the contest confirmed his belief that he could compete in college.
 
"It's definitely a lot different than high school," said Soderquist. "It's definitely a lot more aggressive. It's a different atmosphere. That game gave me a lot of confidence. That really broke it for me because Albright was a decent team. That kind of made me realize, I can definitely play at this level."
 
After a close road loss to Utica, Soderquist and the Bears broke out for four straight wins. The attackman scored three goals and recorded an assist in a 14-3 rout of Castleton. Two days later, Soderquist assisted on three goals as the Bears upended Kean in a neutral site game at Cortland. He followed it up with six points on a hat trick and three helpers in a the Bears' home-opening 13-5 victory over Morrisville.
 
On March 28, Potsdam opened SUNYAC play against Geneseo at Clarkson on a frigid day. The Bears jumped out to a 3-0 lead, with Soderquist assisting on the first goal, but they couldn't shake the Knights. Geneseo scored with 2:32 left to get within 7-6. Soderquist then put the game out of reach with 56 seconds remaining.
 
"SUNYAC games are completely a different atmosphere," Soderquist said. "They are big games. I think the game against Geneseo had one of my favorite plays throughout my college career and helped me get confidence to be a great player in the SUNYAC. I remember having Berkman trust me with the ball in my hands with that amount of time left even though I was a freshman. The goalie was out of the net a little bit so they could try to get the ball back and double team me. The defender came out to me and I saw the wide open lane and just ran past him. I was one-on-one with the goalie and I scored."
 
Geneseo was answered one final time before the clock expired, but Potsdam earned the 8-7 win. Two days later, Soderquist received his first SUNYAC Player of the Week award.
 
He continued to produce strong number for his team for the rest of his freshman campaign. He had three goals and two assists against Canton and three goals against St. Lawrence. He scored twice against Oswego and added an assist. Soderquist had four goals against Brockport and added two goals an assist against Oneonta in the regular season finale. Potsdam reached the SUNYAC Playoffs before bowing at Plattsburgh in the semifinals.

In his first collegiate season, Soderquist finished with 25 goals and 15 assists for 40 points to lead the team in scoring. The performance was noticed around the league and he was named the SUNYAC Rookie of the Year and first team all-conference.
 
"Most of the time at the beginning of the season I set a goal for myself.," said Soderquist. "When I got to Potsdam I told myself I wanted to make first team attack. I never thought about rookie of the year. Overall it's good teamwork and great coaches. If it wasn't for those guys, those awards wouldn't have come so easily for me."
 
The 2016 season was another outstanding year for the Bears men's lacrosse program and an even more confident Soderquist was right in the middle of it. He was ready to avoid a sophomore slump.
 
"Going into my sophomore year I knew this was a huge year for me coming off a good year," Soderquist said. "I knew most of the guys and how we played together. And there were some guys from my hometown too or friends that played against each other in high school. We knew our talent going in there and I set goals at the beginning of the season. But when the season started it was just all about us. That year, my success was all those guys around me. We had a phenomenal year."
 
The season started in an inauspicious way, a 5-2 loss at Scranton. Soderquist was shutout, but vowed not to let it happen again. No one kept him off the scoresheet for the rest of the season and Potsdam reeled off a program record nine straight victories.
 
Soderquist gained revenge over Albright in a 14-13 win with four goals and an assist. He had three points (2-1) in a 18-9 win over Utica. Soderquist topped it with a career-high eight goals in a 14-8 win over Castleton and registered three assists in a 13-9 victory over Kean. He contributed a goal and an assist in a triple-overtime win at Morrisville and matched it in a dramatic rally to down Clarkson 11-9. Soderquist scored five times, including the game-winner, in an 11-7 victory over Oneonta. He was good for four points (2-2) as the Bears ran over Canton 18-7 and then assisted twice in Potsdam's 9-7 win at Geneseo.
 
After the win streak, the Bears stumbled before Soderquist helped them to an 11-8 win at Brockport with three points in the final regular season game. The 10-6 season came to an end in with a loss to top-seeded Cortland in the semifinals.
 
Soderquist led the team again with the best offensive year of his career. He scored a career-high 33 goals and added 13 assists for 46 points. He was named second team All-SUNYAC for his efforts.
 
The 2016 Bears roster contained seven all-conference players. Five of them graduated at the end of the season, along with six other talented veterans. That shifted opponents' focus even more to Soderquist as he prepared for his junior year.
 
In 2017, Potsdam struggled to a 1-4 start, but Soderquist continued to consistently produce. He recorded between two and four points in each in of the first five contests. The Bears then rallied for three straight wins to even their record. Soderquist had two assists in an 11-7 win at Canton. Four days later, he provided the highlight of his season. He scored three goals and picked up two assists in an 11-10 victory at Oneonta. Soderquist's final goal of the game finished the Red Dragons in sudden death overtime. The next day, he contributed two goals and two assists in a 10-9 overtime win at Castleton. The win was the last of the season as Potsdam was overpowered by five strong opponents to close the year.
 
In a season that Soderquist admits wasn't his finest effort, he still managed to lead his team in scoring with 19 goals and a personal best 17 assists for 36 points. He earned second team All-SUNYAC honors for the second year in a row.
 
As a respected veteran entering his senior 2018 season, Soderquist was as focused on being a leader as he was playing well.
 
"I remember going through that season telling myself my body's a little banged up," said Soderquist. "That's just how it goes. I remember having the mentality, how am I going to set a good example for the younger guys and how are me and my senior teammates going to go out. You've got to go as hard as you can no matter what your body is feeling. Set a good example for the younger kids, by going a 100 percent the whole time. That year was probably the most tired I'd been because it was the most determination I'd had for a season. You have all that pressure as a senior. I respected my younger teammates too because they would go as hard as they could. They never gave up."
 
Though wins were difficult to come by, the decorated attackman continued to put up points. He had a hat trick against Clarkson, followed by four goals and two assists against Kean. He scored four goals to go with an assist against Castleton and three goals and an assist against Brockport. Soderquist had two final four-point days against Plattsburgh (2-2) and Oneonta (1-3).
 
For the fourth year in a row, he led his team in scoring with 30 goals and 16 assists for 46 points. Soderquist returned to the All-SUNYAC first team and capped his playing career by becoming the 11th Bear to participate in the USILA Senior All-Star Game. After collecting the Maxcy/Molnar Award for best male senior athlete, he graduated from Potsdam with a bachelor's degree in graphic design.
 
After Potsdam, Soderquist considered a professional lacrosse career. Unfortunately, while training for a tryout, a merger between Major League Lacrosse and the Premier Lacrosse League reduced the number of teams and roster spots and increased the competition for them. Shortly afterward, the pandemic struck and Soderquist decided it was time to let go of the dream.
 
As a Watertown native and someone that spent four years at a North Country college, Soderquist was tired of snow and set his sights South. After a friend encouraged him to give Wilmington, N.C. a chance, he made the move. There he found a job as a marketing manager handling graphic design and social media for the Blockade Runner Hotel in Wrightsville Beach. After a chance run in with a business owner during a flag football game, Soderquist took a screen printing job with CSI Promotions.
 
After nearly three years in Wilmington, he looked farther west. Soderquist then went to work for his cousin Joe in Louisville, Ky. Joe Sharp Racing provides training for horses that compete in high profile races all over the country, including the Kentucky Derby. Horses he's worked with have one millions of dollars in purses.
 
"I've been learning and helping them out," Soderquist said. "It's one of the craziest businesses I've ever been in. Seven days a week, starting at five in the morning. A lot of traveling."
 
While learning his latest occupation, Soderquist is still doing graphic design on the side and building up his photo portfolio by taking pictures during races. Horseracing may only be a temporary stop in his career. He's considering film school at UNC-Wilmington and if accepted, may start as early as next fall.
 
Soderquist encourages young people to try new things, go on adventures and take chances. SUNY Potsdam gave him the flexibility to do that as a student-athlete and he's carried that mentality into the rest of his life.
 
"When you're in your 20's you don't have to have it figured it out," said Soderquist. "I like learning different things. I think that's why I moved here (Kentucky) and you never know. I could be here a year and if I get into grad school, I'll go back there and maybe there's something else I might find. I think it's good to go and take some risks. Just like in lacrosse, there's multiple times in games you take a risk and it might not work, but it may. That's just how it goes. I've tried to be a little openminded about things. I think if I didn't have the drive and played all those sports, I wouldn't have been so open to going to different places around the country and learning new things."
 
Soderquist was inducted into the Bears Hall of Fame on September 30, 2023.