POTSDAM, N.Y.- SUNY Potsdam men's soccer team (5-1) cruises past Sage Colleges (2-2-1) 4-1 Saturday evening. Four different Bears scored in the attack on the Gators.
Potsdam showed no mercy early in the first period. The Bears got off five shots to the Gators one before Potsdam got on the board at 27:07. Junior defender
Matt Parsons (Glens Falls, N.Y./Glens Falls) scored his second goal of the season to put the Bears up 1-0 when he beat Sage goalie TJ Zehner. Just over a minute later, senior midfielder
Johnny Zator (Lido Beach, N.Y./Long Beach) broke free and Zehner came charging out of the goal to challenge, but Zator slipped by to score the open goal to send the score to 2-0. Potsdam held the advantage in shots 9-8 at the end of the first half and the lead.
Bears wasted no time after the break. At 47:49, sophomore defender
Matthew Wagner (Bronxville, N.Y./Bronxville) jumped on the scoring bandwagon off a corner kick from senior forward
Stephen Auyer (Oswego, N.Y./Oswego). There was a scrum in front of the goal before Wagner handled a pass from freshman midfielder
Isaac Sanabria (Bedford, N.Y./Fox Lane) to put the Bears up 3-0. Senior forward
Ben Firlit (South Glens Falls, N.Y./South Glens Falls) continued his scoring fest another game when he found the back of the net with a cross from Auyer to the left side. Firlit sailed it across the goal line for his sixth goal of the season.
With less than three minutes to go in the contest, the Gators earned a free kick on the left side. Defender Paul Reynoso sent a pass into the box where Joseph Diano stuck it past sophomore goalie
Keagen Briggs (Peru, N.Y./Seton Catholic). The Bears held on to secure the 4-1 victory.
Potsdam held the advantage in shots 15-14, while the Gators led in corner kicks 4-3.
Senior
Jesse Kohler (Middletown, N.Y./Tompkins-Cortland C.C.) earned the win with five saves in 81:56 and Briggs closed out the game giving up one goal in 8:04. Zehner took the loss for Sage with six saves in 86:23. Keeper Chris Dunham finished the game with one save in 3:37.
The Bears are back in action Tuesday when they travel to cross-town rival St. Lawrence to battle the Saints at 4 p.m.
