PLATTSBURGH, N.Y.—SUNY Plattsburgh (12-5, 4-2) used seven third quarter goals to upend the SUNY Potsdam men's lacrosse team (7-6, 3-2) 16-11 on Wednesday night. The Cardinals overcame a career-high four goals from Bears senior captain Jon Woodworth (Great Bend, N.Y./Carthage) and a hat trick from freshman attackman Dalston Day (Akwesasne, N.Y./Salmon River). Brendan Damm had three goals and three assists to lead Plattsburgh and Joey Kromer added four goals a helper.
 
Ryan Hubbard got the scoring started just 1:16 into the contest, but Woodworth tied the game at 11:57. Austin Belz got the first of five Cardinal five man-up goals at 9:27 and Plattsburgh led 2-1 after the first quarter.
 
Juniors Matt Kennedy (Clay, N.Y./Cicero-North Syracuse) and Ed Doherty (Amherst, N.Y./Amherst) scored 10 seconds apart to give Potsdam its first lead of the game at 13:50 of the second quarter. Junior midfielder Brian Martin (Fairport, N.Y./Fairport) assisted on Doherty's tally. Jack Felter tied the game at 3-3 with another Plattsburgh man-up goal at 11:26. Day scored the next two for Potsdam in a 46 second span, the first coming on the man advantage, to put the Bears up 5-3 at 4:04. Felter got his second with 2:19 left in the half and Potsdam held a 5-4 advantage at the break.
 
Belz scored a man-up goal 42 seconds into the third quarter to tie the game, but Woodworth countered with his second at 12:21. The Cardinal offense kicked into gear after the goal, scoring six of the next seven. Damm, Matt Renko and Hubbard scored in succession before Day slowed the momentum at 6:59 with his third goal to get Potsdam within 8-7. Junior long-stick middie Lindsay Pound (Henderson, N.Y./Immaculate Heart) assisted on Day's goal. Ryan Callahan, Renko and Damm closed the third quarter by scoring in order and Plattsburgh led 11-7 after 45 minutes.
 
Hubbard extended the lead to 12-7 46 seconds into the final quarter, but the Bears answered with a 3-1 run. Junior captain Pat Bonafede (Churchville, N.Y./Churchville-Chili) set up Woodworth at 13:06. Felter then scored his third man-up goal at 11:10 to make it 13-8. Martin scored for scored at 7:45 and Woodworth netted his fourth at 6:06 and Potsdam trailed just 13-10. Damm and Hubbard recorded the next two markers to regain the five-goal lead for the Cardinals. At 3:31, freshman attackman Eric Soderquist (Watertown, N.Y./Watertown) assisted on Martin's second goal of the night, but Mike Gay scored with three seconds left to close the scoring at 16-11.
 
In goal, junior Pete Gropp (Fairport, N.Y./Fairport) finished with seven saves, while Plattsburgh's Matt Massaria stopped 14 shots for the win.
 
The Bears outshot the Cardinals 38-37, but Plattsburgh edged Potsdam in ground balls (31-30) and face-offs (17-13).
 
With the win the Cardinals clinched the two seed in the upcoming SUNYAC Semifinals on Wednesday, April 29. With a victory at Oneonta on Saturday, the Bears would clinch the three seed and return trip to Plattsburgh in a week. A loss to the Red Dragons combined with a Brockport loss to Cortland would create a three-way tie to be determined by a goal differential tie-breaker. A loss and a Brockport win would eliminate the Bears.
 
Potsdam squares off with Oneonta at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday afternoon.