POTSDAM, N.Y.—For the second year in a row, the fourth-seeded SUNY Potsdam men's lacrosse team (8-6, 4-3 SUNYAC) heads to No. 15 and top-seeded SUNY Cortland (15-2, 7-0) for the SUNYAC Semifinals. The Bears will square off with the Red Dragons tomorrow afternoon at 3 p.m.
 
Potsdam is making its 16th postseason appearance and the first under first-year head coach Gill Conners. The Bears have advanced to the SUNYAC Championship twice in program history, in 2011 and last season. Potsdam enters the playoffs with the third ranked offense and defense the conference with 12.94 goals-per-game and a 9.86 goals-against-average.
 
Senior captain Cobie Cree (Akwesasne, N.Y./Salmon River) and senior midfielder Owen Walsh (Ballston Spa, N.Y./Ballston Spa) have paced the Bears offense all season. The duo is fifth and seventh in scoring in the SUNYAC, respectively. Cree has had a career year with 28 goals and 25 assists for 53 points, while starting all 14 contests. Two-time All-SUNYAC selection Walsh is right behind him with 33 goals and 14 assists for 47 points to go with 30 ground balls and six caused turnovers in 13 contests. Senior midfielder Drew Rose (Brasher Falls, N.Y./St. Lawrence Central) has 29 points on 18 goals and 11 assists in 13 games as well asc16 ground balls. Junior attackman Billy Kozloski (Johnson City, N.Y./Johnson City) was impressive in his first campaign with the Bears, registering 23 points on 20 goals and three assists along with 25 ground balls and eight caused turnovers. Senior midfielder Ryan Hughes (Corning, N.Y./Corning-Painted Post) has nearly matched a personal best with 10 goals and 13 assists for 23 points, while playing in every contest. He also totaled 20 ground balls. Junior faceoff specialist Drew Costello (Ogdensburg, N.Y./Ogdensburg Free Academy) is tied for the SUNYAC lead and ranks 17th in the nation in faceoff winning percentage at .671 (218-325).
 
Freshman midfielder Kyan Combs (Watertown, N.Y./Watertown) also reached double-digits in his first season. He has eight goals, seven assists, 15 points, 12 ground balls and four caused turnovers in all 14 games. Junior midfielder Tyler Gould (Webster, N.Y./Webster Schroeder) contributed 14 points on seven goals and seven assists and had nine ground balls in 10 contests. Freshman midfielder Sebastien Laughing (Akwesasne, N.Y./Salmon River) (6g, 6a) and sophomore attackman Mick O'Donnell (Watertown, N.Y./Watertown) (4g, 8a) each posted 12 points. Sophomore midfielder Braden Fahey (Halfmoon, N.Y./Shenendehowa) (9g, 2a) and freshman midfielder Preston Daniels (Peru, N.Y./Peru) (8g, 2a) round out the leaders with action in 13 and 12 contests this spring.
 
2024 All-SUNYAC defender and Bears senior captain Cole Slavin (Corning, N.Y./Corning-Painted Post) leads a talented group of defenders again this season. He has started all 13 games he's played, collecting 22 ground balls and causing 13 turnovers. Junior defender Alex Farben-Griggs (White Plains, N.Y./White Plains) has played in every game, starting 13, and tallied 37 ground balls and 12 caused turnovers. Senior long-stick-midfielder and captain Ben Lagoner (Webster, N.Y./Webster Thomas) has contributed 21 ground balls and five caused turnovers. Junior defender Grayson Jackson (Carthage, N.Y./Carthage) has six caused turnovers in 13 games with seven starts. Junior defender Tommy Storrin (Brasher Falls, N.Y./St. Lawrence Central) leads the Bears with 18 caused turnovers and has corralled 15 ground balls. Sophomore defender Jack McCandless (Victor, N.Y./Victor) had 21 ground balls and five turnovers in 10 games with eight starts.
 
The Bears remain deep at the goalie position. Junior Saka Thompson (Akwesasne, N.Y./Salmon River), an All-American a year ago, ranks third in the SUNYAC in both goals-against-average (9.78) and save percentage (.576). He has a 3-4 record and has turned aside 98 shots in 441:52 minutes. Senior captain Liam O'Neil (Liverpool, N.Y./Liverpool) has been especially sharp of late, winning two straight contests that launched Potsdam back into the playoffs. He is 5-2 and ranks fourth in the conference in G.A.A. (10.18) and fifth in save percentage (.540). Both goalies have earned SUNYAC Defensive Player of the Week honors this season, including O'Neil this week.
 
The Red Dragons enter Wednesday's contest riding an eight-game winning streak. They have the conference's best offense (17.71 GPG) and defense (7.31 G.A.A.). They rank seventh in the nation in goals-per-game and sixth in goals-against-average.
 
Sam Rothman leads Cortland's offense with 68 points on 47 goals and 21 assists. Sean Kavanagh has 38 goals and 22 assists for 60 points. Nick Stoeker had scored 22 goals and assisted on 17 for 39 points. Klay Stuver is right behind with 30 goals and seven assists. Kole Stuver (19g, 16a) and Frank Neeson (10g, 25a) each have 35 points for the Red Dragons. Cortland has multiple options in the faceoff circle, but Nicky Miltenberger has the majority of the chances with a .532 (101-190) winning percentage. Alex Thrasher (25), Christian Lembo (25), Tucker Macknik (24) and Dino Bowen (21) lead a formidable defense and have combined for 95 cause turnovers. Travis Wagner has started in goal for 15 of the Red Dragons' 17 contests. He is 13-2 with a SUNYAC best 8.28 G.A.A. and .596 save percentage.
 
The two teams met in the semifinals a year ago in Cortland with the Bears pulling off a stunning 8-7 upset and ending a 32-game skid to the Red Dragons.
  
Tickets for the contest are $5 for adults and $3 for children ages 5-12. Children ages 4 under are free, as are students from SUNYAC institutions with school ID.
 
Fans that can't attend the game can watch video and follow the live stats at the links below:

Live Video: https://www.cortlandreddragons.com/sports/2019/8/15/BlueFramePage.aspx

Live Statistics: https://www.cortlandreddragons.com/sidearmstats/mlax/summary

Game Program: https://s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/sidearm.nextgen.sites/cortlandreddragons.com/documents/2025/4/29/SUNYAC_MLAX_vs._Potsdam_4-30_Semfinals.pdf