MYRTLE BEACH, S.C.—The SUNY Potsdam men's lacrosse team (1-1) came up one goal short against Alfred University, falling 9-8 on Friday afternoon. Sophomore midfielder Derek Frost (Buffalo, N.Y./Williamsville East), junior midfielder Zeppy O'Geen (Massena, N.Y./Massena), and sophomore attackman Kyle Nicholas (Syracuse, N.Y./Westhill) each scored two goals for the Bears. Potsdam junior goalie Mike Quinlan (Buffalo, N.Y./Williamsville South) made 16 saves.

The first half saw a pattern of two-goal runs by the Saxons and two-goal answers from Potsdam. The Bears found themselves down 2-0 after the first quarter, but rallied on goals from Frost and sophomore midfielder Robbie Ashlaw (North Syracuse, N.Y./Cicero-North Syracuse) at 13:41 and 12:55 of the second. After two more Alfred goals O'Geen and Nicholas again tied the score at 7:47 and 6:02. The Saxons added one more with 2:28 left and took a 5-4 lead into the half.

Alfred scored the first two goals of the second half to extend their advantage to three. Frost scored his second with 2:31 left in the third quarter and O'Geen added his second just 25 seconds into the final period. The Saxons regained their three-goal lead with 4:17 left and narrowly held off a furious Potsdam rally. The Bears outshot Alfred 7-0 over the remainder of the period. Potsdam got goals from Nicholas at 2:13 and junior midfielder Ryan Paparella (Whitesboro, N.Y./Whitesboro) with 25 seconds left, but was unable to net the equalizer.

Goalie Justin Becker made 10 saves to earn the win for the Saxons (4-0). Alfred outshot the Bears 47-33. Potsdam was 2-8 on the man-advantage and the Saxons finished 0-3.

“It was another good effort overall,” said Bears Head Coach Rick Berkman. “We had four guys out with injuries so we were a bit shorthanded. We were tired by the end of the game, but we played well. Mike Quinlan had a great game in goal and Zeppy O'Geen had a big day for us on face offs and scored two goals. (sophomore) Pat Nealon (Syracuse, N.Y./Westhill) and (junior) Rashaun Durden (Buffalo, N.Y./Williamsville East) were very strong on defense and really controlled the top two Alfred scorers.”

Next, Potsdam travels to Utica on Monday, March 14, to battle the Pioneers at 4 p.m.