ONEONTA, N.Y.—Hartwick College (1-0) edged the SUNY Potsdam women's lacrosse team (0-1) 9-7 on Friday afternoon in the season opener. Senior captain Cayla O'Connor (Dexter, N.Y./General Brown), junior attack Ashley Burrowes (Brentwood, N.Y./Brentwood) and senior captain Meghan Paige (Carthage, N.Y./Carthage) each scored twice for the Bears, while junior midfielder Alexa Ferrer (Warwick, N.Y./Warwick Valley) also scored. Senior goalie Katie Longamore (Dexter, N.Y./General Brown) finished with nine saves.
 
Potsdam opened up a 2-0 lead over the first 9:03. O'Connor set up Burrowes for the first goal of the game at 24:57. Exactly four minutes later, Paige scored on a feed from Burrowes. However, the Hawks rallied for three in a row to take their first lead of the game. Rachel Redden cut the lead in half a 18:29 and Emma Knapp tied the score at 10:41. Just 35 seconds later, Hailey Pooler made it a 3-2 contest with an man-up goal. O'Connor tied the game at 9:48, but goals by Knapp and GinaMarie Wilson at 4:28 and 0:46  gave Hartwick a 5-3 advantage at the half.
 
Amy Tracy extended the Hawk's lead to three just 32 seconds into the final period, but O'Connor countered at 26:11. Back-to-Back goals by Redden gave Hartwick it's biggest advantage at 8-4 with 21:17 to play. The Bears scored three of the contest's final four goals, but came up just short. Junior attack Alli Stark (Walworth, N.Y./Gananda) set up Burrowes' second marker at 18:50. Wilson then gave Hartwick a 9-5 lead with 6:04 left and the Hawks were able to wind down the clock. Paige closed the gap to three with 1:22 remaining and Ferrer scored with just seven seconds left.
 
Ashley Joblonowski picked up the win with six saves. O'Connor had a game-high six draw controls and junior defender Kayla McCabe (Watertown, N.Y./General Brown) caused three turnovers. Senior defender Mackenzie King (Rochester, N.Y./Brighton) and Paige caused two turnovers each.
 
The Bears battle Elmira College tomorrow afternoon, though the time and venue have changed. Potsdam will now face the Soaring Eagles at Corning High School at noon.