POTSDAM, N.Y.—The SUNY Potsdam women's lacrosse team (1-6, 0-1 SUNYAC) fell to Buffalo State (2-5, 1-0) 12-8 in the teams' SUNYAC opener on Saturday afternoon at Maxcy Turf Field. Senior captain Margaret Wall (Rochester, N.Y./Aquinas) matched a career-high with five goals for the Bears. Junior attack Sarah Lorusso (Lakeview, N.Y./Frontier) led all scorers with four goals and three assists for seven points for the Bengals.
 
Wall got Potsdam off to a fast start with two free-position goals in the opening 3:46. However, Buffalo State answered with six straight over the next 12 minutes, including two from freshman attack Alanna Herne (Tonawanda, N.Y./Tonawanda) and Lorusso's first of the day. Bears sophomore midfielder Michaela Cole (Parishville, N.Y./Parishville) scored two of the next three and Potsdam trailed 6-4 at 9:45. The Bengals went on a 3-0 run to end the half and led 9-4 at the break.
 
Lorusso notched her third of the day at 27:29 of the second half with a free-position attempt. Potsdam countered with the next two from Wall at 26:19 and sophomore midfielder Murphy Newman (Canton, N.Y./Berkshire School) at 22:30. Junior defender Maggie McCabe (Camillus, N.Y./West Genesee) assisted on Wall's goal. The teams traded the final four goals of the contest. Lorusso's fourth goal came at 19:10 followed by Wall's fourth 31 seconds later. Herne set up Buffalo State senior midfielder Rebecca Galanti (Hamburg, N.Y./Frontier) for a man-up goal at 4:55. Wall buried a pretty pass from junior attack Bri McClusky (Watertown, N.Y./Immaculate Heart) to close the scoring at 2:37.
 
In goal, sophomore Devan Olschewske (Canandaigua, N.Y./Canandaigua) made five saves for Potsdam. Senior Colleen George (Johnson City, N.Y./Maine-Endwell) earned the victory with a 12-save performance for the Bengals.
 
The Bears outshot Buffalo State 30-23 and picked up 18 ground balls to the Bengals 13. Potsdam senior attack Bailey Weigel (East Amherst, N.Y./Williamsville East) recorded nine draw controls.
 
With her big day, Wall now has 76 goals and 13 assists for 89 points. She moves into eighth on the Bears' all-time scoring list and sixth on the goals scored list. McClusky's assist moves her into a tie for fifth place on the program's scoring list with 101 points and third on the assists list with 43.
 
Potsdam is back in action on Tuesday, March 31 when the Bears host sixth-ranked SUNY Cortland at 4 p.m.