POTSDAM, N.Y. -- The SUNY Oneonta men's lacrosse team fell in their SUNYAC opener against Potsdam, 21-9, Sunday afternoon. Sophomore
Jamie O'Neil (Bath, N.Y./Haverling) finished with three goals and an assist for the team-high four points and recorded his 100th career point in the contest. The Red Dragons moved to 4-4 on the season as the Bears improved to 6-1 overall and 1-0 in the conference.
Senior
Eric Nicholson (Nesconset, N.Y./Smithtown East) scored his ninth goal of the season to put Oneonta up, 1-0, at 12:01. Potsdam took the lead with a couple goals from Drew Rose and Tyler Gould at 1:20. In the closing seconds of the first, O'Neil received a pass on the left side of the net from senior
Matthew Krieg (Port Jefferson Station/Comsewogue) and beat the Bears goalie, Saka Thompson, through the five-hole for his 100th career point and tied the game at two heading into the second.
Potsdam took control of the conference opener with an 8-2 second quarter to go ahead 10-4 at halftime. The Bears scored five straight to start the period then freshman
Ryan Lussier (Burnt Hills, N.Y./Burnt Hills) recorded his first collegiate goal at 4:59 after he received the ball off the faceoff and sprinted into the zone for a shot that went through Thompson's legs. O'Neil tallied the last goal of the half when he gained control of the ball in mid-air off a saved shot near the net and scored on the putback.
Both teams traded goals to start the second half. Junior
Vincent Tirino (Port Jefferson Station/Comsewogue) gave an underhand pass to Kreig for a goal before Kreig dished it to senior
Evan Kelly (Niskayuna, N.Y./Niskayuna) for a man-up score. O'Neil recorded his hat trick at 6:59 in the third to pull the Red Dragons within five, 12-7, however the Bears scored eight straight for a 20-7 lead with 5:42 to play. Freshman
Thomas Hnis (Smithtown, N.Y./Kings Park) and sophomore
Daniel Macchiarella (Guilderland, N.Y./Guilderland) found the back of the net for the Red Dragons in the closing minutes of the game.
Krieg finished with one goal and two assists, Nicholson had one goal and an assist.
Senior
Harrison Boukas (North Massapequa/Plainegde) finished with eight saves and freshman
Ben Thayer (South Setauket, N.Y./Ward Melville) played the final 5:42 and recorded one save. Junior
Stephen Barikyan (Tappan/Tappan Zee) continued to dominate at faceoff and won a career-high 18 of 23, tied for the eighth most in a game in program history.
Thompson had 23 saves for the Bears. Peyton Walsh ended with four goals and seven assists, Owen Walsh had four goals and an assist, and Rose had five goals.
The Red Dragons outshot the Bears, 58-46, 32-30 on net, had a 51-40 advantage in ground balls, and won 26 of 34 faceoffs.
Oneonta is back in action Saturday, March 30, against Geneseo at 1 pm on Red Dragon Field.
