UTICA, N.Y.—The SUNY Potsdam men's lacrosse team (0-2) scored three goals in the final 10 minutes, but fell short at Utica College (2-2) by a 6-4 count. The game featured a goalie duel between Bears junior Pete Gropp (Fairport, N.Y./Fairport) and Pioneer Andrew DiOrio. In his first collegiate start, Gropp stopped a game-high 13 shots. Junior attackman Ed Doherty (Amherst, N.Y/Amherst) scored twice for Potsdam.
 
Doherty scored the only goal of the first quarter at 7:10 with an assist from junior captain Pat Bonafede (Churchville, N.Y./Churchville-Chili). The Bears controlled the opening 15 minutes with a 10-4 advantage in shots, but didn't add to the lead.
 
Matthew Miller tied the score at 11:30 of the second and started a 6-0 run for Utica. Two minutes later, Zack Stevenson put the Pioneers up for good and Utica led 2-1 at the break.
 
The Pioneers outshot the Bears 17-6 in the third quarter and scored three goals in a five-minute span. Miller, Liam Wheatley and Stevenson scored in succession to build a 5-1 lead by the 8:46 mark. Gropp made Utica work for everything it got, stopping eight shots in the third quarter alone.
 
Alex Finnegan made it 6-1 Pioneers with 11:38 to play. A minute later, junior midfielder Brian Martin (Fairport, N.Y./Fairport) ended the Bears' drought with an assist from senior captain Jon Woodworth (Great Bend, N.Y./Carthage). Junior long stick midfielder Lindsey Pound (Henderson, N.Y./Immaculate Heart) scored his first in Potsdam jersey at 6:19 and the Bears were down 6-3. Potsdam killed off two man-down situations in the next five minutes. With 58 seconds remaining, Doherty struck again, making it a two-goal deficit. With 38 seconds left, the Bears took simultaneous slashing penalties and played down two men for the remainder of the contest. Potsdam was unable to overcome the disadvantage.
 
DiOrio stopped 11 shots to earn the win.
 
Bears junior Brandon Grace (Penn Yan, N.Y./Penn Yan) won eight of the contest's 14 faceoffs. Potsdam edged Utica in shots, 30-29, and picked up 26 ground balls to the Pioneers' 11.
 
The Bears look to bounce back when they head to Castleton, Vt. for a Wednesday showdown with the Spartans at 4 p.m.