POTSDAM, N.Y. – The Plattsburgh State men's lacrosse team closed out the first half of State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) East Division play with a 13-6 loss to SUNY Potsdam on Friday afternoon at Maxcy Turf Field.
 
Potsdam outshot Plattsburgh State, 48-35, but the Cardinals won the ground ball battle, 30-26. The Bears went 18-for-23 at the 'X' and 26-for-30 on clears, while the Cardinals were 17-for-27 on clear attempts.
 
Plattsburgh State falls to 1-4 overall (1-2 SUNYAC) with the loss and next visits SUNY Oneonta on Friday, April 16, at 4 p.m. Potsdam rises to 3-2 overall (2-1 SUNYAC) with the win and next visits Utica College on Tuesday, April 13, at 4 p.m.
 
Sophomore attackman Michael Swift (New Rochelle, N.Y./New Rochelle) opened scoring 2:19 into the game, burying a feed from sophomore midfielder Amos Grimm (Latham, N.Y./Shaker), while Potsdam's junior midfielder Alex Burley (Canandaigua, N.Y./Canandaigua) scored unassisted 39 seconds later to tie the score at 1-all. Senior midfielder Stephen Kane (Hampden, Mass./Minnechaug Regional) tallied with 9:11 left in the first quarter before the Bears netted three straight goals to end the opening stanza, getting scores from sophomore midfielder Peyton Walsh, junior long-stick midfielder Bryley Frederick (Clayton, N.Y./Thousand Islands) and junior attackman Cam Talcott (senior midfielder Josh Huiatt assist) to open up a 4-2 lead.
 
Junior midfielder Alec Miller (Williamsville, N.Y./Williamsville South) found the back of the net 3:38 into the second quarter to open up a 5-2 advantage for the Bears, while senior attackman Connor Wolff (Niskayuna, N.Y./Niskayuna) connected with Swift less than two minutes later to cut the deficit to 5-3. Huiatt and Miller each scored unassisted for the Bears to take a 7-3 lead, while Grimm converted on a pass from Kane to make it a three-goal game with 2:43 to go before halftime. Potsdam took an 8-4 margin into the intermission, as Talcott tallied on a pass from junior midfielder Henry Reber.
 
Potsdam continued to build on its lead in the third quarter, as Huiatt scored once and Talcott scored twice to break open an 11-4 advantage. Walsh and Reber each earned assists during that stretch. Plattsburgh State's sophomore attackman Gus Rugg (Haverstraw, N.Y./North Rockland) broke up the run by finding the back of the net on a feed from Grimm, which pulled the Cardinals within 11-5.
 
In the fourth quarter, Huiatt and Talcott (Walsh assist) each scored for Potsdam, while Wolff scored just outside the crease after picking up a loose ball with 33 seconds remaining to provide the final score of 13-6.
 
Swift keyed the Cardinal attack with two goals, while Grimm tallied three points on a goal and two assists. Rugg, Wolff and Kane also scored for Plattsburgh State. Junior defenseman Justin Rocovich (Bohemia, N.Y./Connetquot) helped the Cardinals win the possession game with seven ground balls, while senior defenseman Walter Saraceni (Setauket, N.Y./Ward Melville) had two caused turnovers.
 
For Potsdam, Talcott and Huiatt scored five and three goals, respectively, while junior face-off specialist Brandon Smith went 18-for-23 on face-offs.
 
Junior goalie Christian Bassi (Windham, N.H./Kimball Union Academy) stood on his head once again with an 18-save effort for the Cardinals, while sophomore goalie Ben Fuchs earned the win in net for the Bears with 11 stops.