POTSDAM, N.Y.—Junior midfielder Tessa Pierce (Saratoga Springs, N.Y./Saratoga Springs) scored 2:39 into overtime to give the SUNY Potsdam women's lacrosse team (3-0) a 14-13 victory over Alfred University (2-3) on Saturday afternoon. Senior captain Lindsey LaDue (Massena, N.Y./Massena) led the Bears with a career-high matching five goals. Freshman attack Kawenokwiio Mitchell (Akwesasne, N.Y./Salmon River) had four points on a goal and three assists and Pierce and junior attack Mallory Marks (Brownville, N.Y./General Brown) each contributed three goals.
 
Junior attack Hailey Stroh (Houghton, N.Y./Homeschool) opened the scoring at 13:38. Pierce answered with a man-up goal on a feed from graduate student attack Anita Reitano (Averill Park, N.Y./Averill Park) at 12:04 to tie the score. Alfred regained the lead on a goal from sophomore midfielder Morgan Wise (Kittanning, Pa./Armstrong) at 4:43. Graduate student midfielder Taylor Swamp (Akwesasne, N.Y/Salmon River) closed the scoring in the first quarter and began a 3-0 Potsdam run at 2:08 with another man-up goal. It was 2-2 after 15 minutes.
 
The teams combined for 10 goals in the second quarter. LaDue scored the first two to give the Bears their first lead at 13:38. Mitchell assisted on the second marker. The Saxons answered with four in-a-row from four different players to take a 6-4 advantage at 8:18. LaDue made it a 6-5 contest at 4:54, but Alfred freshman attack Alescia Nitti (Brewster, N.Y./Brewster) scored a man-up goal at 3:41 to regain the two-goal lead. However, Marks and LaDue scored in a 38-second span and it was 7-7 at the half.
 
The teams alternated all seven goals in the third quarter and the Saxons were up 11-10. Marks, LaDue and Mitchell had all Potsdam's goals.
 
Pierce and freshman Abby Kraus (Buffalo, N.Y./Frontier) scored the first two goals of the four quarter to give the Bears a 12-11 lead, their first of the second half. Mitchell assisted on Kraus' goal. Senior midfielder Abigail Call (Rome, N.Y./Rome Free Academy) and Wise answered to put Alfred back in front. With 5:35 on the clock, Marks got the Bears even at 13-13 with another assist from Mitchell and the game headed to overtime.
 
The Bears had the only two shots of the overtime period. At 3:21, Pierce drove to the left side of the net and beat Saxon senior goalie Alyssa Piechota (Webster, N.Y./Webster Thomas) to win the game.
 
Sophomore goalie Olivia Minarich (Albany, N.Y./Albany) picked up the win after allowing two goals and making a save in the game's final 17:39. Sophomore Jane Olszewski (Thornwood, N.Y./Westlake) allowed seven goals and made five saves in the first half and freshman Allyson Bruns (Oswego, N.Y./Oswego) allowed four goals in the third quarter.
 
LaDue also contributed 11 draw controls, five caused turnovers and four ground balls. Pierce added four ground balls and five draw controls.
 
Piechota finished with 12 saves for Alfred. Junior attack Amelia Booth (Staatsburg, N.Y./FDR) led the Saxons with five points on three goals and two assists. Wise had three goals and Nitti and Call each recorded a goal and an assist.
 
With two assists, Reitano now has 193 points on 121 goals and 72 assists. She is just eight points from tying hall of famer Bri McClusky '16 for second place on program's all-time scoring list.
 
The Bears are back in action on Tuesday, when they travel to Troy for a 4 p.m. battle with Russell Sage.
 

Every Child Matters

Prior to the game, the Bears donned orange t-shirts to promote awareness for Native American children who were victimized by the residential school systems within the United States and Canada. The orange shirts acknowledge the intergenerational impact that is still felt throughout the communities today. It honors the Indigenous peoples experiences while celebrating resilience and affirming a commitment that Every Child Matters.