CANTON, N.Y.—The SUNY Potsdam men's soccer team (1-0) scored two second half goals to rally past SUNY Canton (0-1) 2-1 in its 2015 season opener. Senior captains Tom Benedetto (Queensbury, N.Y./Queensbury) and Ben Firlit (South Glens Falls, N.Y./South Glens Falls) each scored for the Bears and junior goalie Nick Davies (Webster, N.Y./Webster Thomas) made four saves to earn his 15th career victory. Davies now sits atop of the program's known wins list.
 
The season opener started slowly with both teams feeling each other out. The first strong chance came off the foot of a Kangaroo. At the 14:21 mark, Canton midfielder Hunter Mowery drew Bears defenders to him and fed Kangaroo sniper Nick Escalante. Escalante spun around and fired a shot to the left of Potsdam junior goalie Nick Davies (Webster, N.Y./Webster Thomas) for a 1-0 lead. The Bears slowly shifted the momentum in their direction and increased ball control. They finished the half with an 8-3 advantage in shots, but still trailed.
 
Potsdam continued to inch closer in the second half, creating strong opportunities over the first 15 minutes. In the 60th minute, senior captain Tom Benedetto (Queensbury, N.Y./Queensbury) ripped a shot into Canton goalie Austin Lamay. Lamay seemed to control the blast, but the ball slipped through to tie the score. Minutes later, Escalante just missed a chance to put Canton back in front as his shot curled wide. The Bears resumed their pressure after the chance and finally grabbed the lead at 68:10. Senior captain Ben Firlit, beat a Roo defender and ripped a shot into the left corner of the net. Potsdam headed off a few final charges from Canton over remainder of the contest to seal the win.
 
Bears sixth-year head coach Adam Parker saw room for improvement despite the outcome. 
 
"We had a game plan and started off the first couple minutes doing what we wanted and then we just got put on our heels," said Parker. "In the first half, we were slow to all the first, second and loose balls. In the second half we were a little more dangerous in the box and we started capitalizing on some of their mistakes instead of letting them off the hook. It was good to win and our experience helped us in that aspect, but we were far below what we should be even though we won. We have a lot of things to sort out."
 
Parker did have some praise for a few standouts.
 
"(Freshman) Tyler Mullery (Holtsville, N.Y./Sachem East), (freshman) Isaac Sanabria (Bedford, N.Y./Fox Lane) and (senior) Patrick Mylod (Clifton Park, N.Y./Shenendehowa) settled game down in the middle part," said Parker. "Ben and Tom worked really, played well and earned the goals."
 
Parker knows what he needs to see from his Bears when they take the field for the fourth Potsdam College Cup this weekend.
"Defending we've just got to be much cleaner," Parker said. "In the attack we've got to be more dangerous. We've got good players so I think it's just finding the lineup that's going to be the most effective."
 
The Bears outshot Canton 21-10, but the Kangaroos edged Potsdam 4-3 in corners. Lemay finished with five saves for Canton.
 
The Bears host Purchase College in the first round of the College Cup at SUNY Canton this Saturday at 11 a.m.