The SUNY Potsdam men's lacrosse team kicks off its 2023 campaign at home against 14th-ranked St. Lawrence University Wednesday afternoon. The Bears were 5-8 last season.
 
Head coach Rick Berkman begins his 29th year at the helm of the program. He is joined by former All-SUNYAC Bear attackman Cam Talcott '22 as assistant coach. Potsdam has a solid leadership group in its five senior captains including midfielders Ryan Spaman (Ogdensburg, N.Y./Ogdensburg Free Academy), Ayden LaFave (Philadelphia, N.Y./Indian River), Peyton Walsh (Ballston Spa, N.Y./Ballston Spa) and Bryce Tyler (Camden, Maine/Camden Hills) and defender Ryan Derion (Ogdensburg, N.Y./Ogdensburg Free Academy). The team features 21 returnees and 15 newcomers.
 
Offense
Offensively, the Bears return their top three scorers. Peyton Walsh led the team in scoring on 26 goals and eight assists for 34 points. He also collected 31 ground balls and caused 11 turnovers. Sophomore attackman Owen Walsh (Ballston Spa, N.Y./Ballston Spa) scored 13 goals and assisted on a team-leading 18 for 31 points. His performance earned a spot on the all-conference second team. Junior attackman Cobie Cree (Akwesasne, N.Y./Salmon River) recorded a career-high 30 points on 22 goals and eight assists to go with 18 ground balls and six caused turnovers. Sophomore midfielder Drew Rose (Brasher Falls, N.Y./St. Lawrence Central) is also back after playing in all 13 games and recording nine goals and four assists for 13 points along with 11 ground balls. Sophomore midfielder Ryan Hughes (Corning, N.Y./Corning-Painted Post) had six goals, three assists and nine ground balls in 12 games. Spaman contributed six assists in 12 games along with eight ground balls. Senior attackman Noah Strader (Ogdensburg, N.Y./Ogdensburg Free Academy) also returns after scoring two goals in seven games a year ago. LaFave had three goals and two assists in nine contests in 2022. Freshman attackman Crayton Cree (Hogansburg, N.Y./Salmon River) joins the offense this season after helping Salmon River to two Section X Titles. The Bears add two faceoff specialists in freshman Drew Costello (Ogdensburg, N.Y./Ogdensburg Free Academy) and sophomore Talon Thompson (Akwesasne, N.Y./Salmon River).
 
Midfield
Bryce Tyler played every game last year and collected 15 ground balls. Senior midfielder Bernard Baafour (Bronx, N.Y./Hoosac School) scored a goal in four contests. Sophomore long-stick midfielder Ben Lagoner (Webster, N.Y./Webster Thomas) saw time in 12 games, picking up a team-high 36 ground balls and winning 21 faceoffs. Junior Gerald VanDeWalker (Carthage, N.Y./Carthage) played in three games last season. Six new midfielders join the team. Junior Casey Hooper (Massena, N.Y./Massena) moves down Route 56 from Massena. Freshmen Jakob Lynch (Alexandria Bay, N.Y./Alexandria) and long-stick Gabe Hornung (Brasher Falls, N.Y./St. Lawrence Central) are also North Country natives from Alex Bay and Brasher Falls, respectively. Freshman Nick Long (Elbridge, N.Y./Jordan-Elbridge) heads north from Central New York, while fellow freshmen Tyler Gould (Webster, N.Y./Webster Schroeder) and Brock Chasey (Macedon, N.Y./Gananda) come from the Rochester area.
 
Defense
Derion will anchor the defense this season. He started all 13 games last spring, collecting 30 ground balls and causing five turnovers. Sophomores Ben Welch (Webster, N.Y./Webster Thomas) and Cole Slavin (Corning, N.Y./Corning-Painted Post) each played in 12 games in 2022. Welch had 11 ground balls and four caused turnovers, while Slavin had 15 ground balls and caused six turnovers. Senior Sean Delaney (Victor, N.Y./Victor) played in nine games and senior Logan Chasey (Gananda, N.Y./Gananda) saw time in three. Junior Nicholas Parrish (Fulton, N.Y./G. Ray Bodley) and sophomore Owen Dunham (Whitney Point, N.Y./Whitney Point) are back as well. The Bears add four freshmen to the defense. Ryan Wassmer (Patchogue, N.Y./Patchogue-Medford) and Alex Farben-Griggs (White Plains, N.Y./White Plains) come from down state. Tommy Storrin (Brasher Falls, N.Y./St. Lawrence Central) is the third St. Lawrence Central product on the team and Grayson Jackson (Carthage, N.Y../Carthage) played for the vaunted Carthage program in high school.
 
Goal
Two goalies are back for Potsdam this season and two new ones join the ranks. Junior Liam O'Neil (Liverpool, N.Y./Liverpool) posted a .562 save percentage and a 10.73 goals-against-average in 12 games last season with seven starts. He also had 15 ground balls and six caused turnovers. Junior Collin Dougherty (East Greenbush, N.Y./Columbia) had a .650 save percentage and a 7.50 G.A.A. in four games. Junior Chris Wilk (Rutland, N.Y./Rutland) brings plenty of experience from Castleton University. He started 16 games for the Spartans over the last two seasons. Freshman Saka Thompson (Akwesasne, N.Y./Salmon River) will battle for some time this spring, another Salmon River Shamrock product.
 
Schedule
The Bears face the No. 14 Saints at 4:30 p.m. one Wednesday. They then travel to SUNY Poly on March 4. Potsdam heads to Pennsylvania for two contests over spring break. The Bears battle Neumann University on March 6 and Moravian University on March 8. They return home to face Castleton on March 14 before wrapping up their nonconference schedule with two road games and a home contest. Potsdam heads to Morrisville State on March 18 and SUNY Canton on March 21 before hosting Clarkson University on March 28. The Bears open SUNYAC play at SUNY Oneonta on March 25. They travel to SUNY Cortland on April 1. They host SUNY Brockport on April 8 and SUNY Geneseo on April 14. After contests at SUNY New Paltz (April 22) and Plattsburgh State (April 26), the Bears host Oswego State on April 29 to close out the regular season.
 
Coverage
Live video and statistics of all home contests will be provided as they have in each of the last 11 seasons. Check potsdambears.com for all news and schedule updates.
 
SUNY Potsdam Men's Lacrosse Links:
Schedule: https://potsdambears.com/sports/mens-lacrosse/schedule
Live Video for Home Contests: https://potsdambears.com/mlaxvideo
Live Statistics for Home Contests: https://webspace.potsdam.edu/groups/sports/m_lax/XLIVE.HTM