ONEONTA, N.Y. - After trailing 6-3 in the first quarter, the Oneonta women's lacrosse team outscored Potsdam 11-7 in the second half to earn an 18-13 win on Saturday afternoon. The Red Dragons move to 3-6 overall and 2-0 in the SUNYAC, while the Bears fall to 5-3 and 0-3 in the conference.
Potsdam scored three goals in the opening four minutes before junior Lindsey Townes (Yorktown Heights, NY/Yorktown) scored on a pass from junior Chelsea Dodenhoff (Islip Terrace, NY/East Islip) to make it 3-1. The Bears responded with three straight goals, including a woman-up score from Tessa Pierce at 9:33. Senior Elizabeth Doherty (Miller Place, NY/Miller Place) found the back of the net at 2:02, and senior Cassidy Moore (Hampton Bays, NY/Hampton Bays) scored at 1:08 to cut the Potsdam lead to 6-3 heading into the second quarter.
The Bears took the opening draw control of the second quarter, and Lindsey Ladue pushed the lead to 7-3 at 14:23. Oneonta found its offense afterward, closing the half on a 4-0 run with two goals from senior Mason Benvenuto (Lynbrook, NY/Lynbrook) to tie 7-7 at the break.
The Red Dragons carried over into the second by scoring six unanswered goals, with three coming from Moore. Potsdam's Megan MacWilliams netted a goal at 1:09 to make it 13-8 heading into the fourth.
Townes netted back-to-back scores from Dodenhoff to give Oneonta a 15-9 lead. Dodenhoff scored at 8:52, and goals from Doherty and Townes made it 18-11 with 5:10 remaining. Potsdam scored two more times, but Oneonta held on for the win.
Moore finished with five goals, one assist, four ground balls, four caused turnovers, and four draw controls. Townes scored four goals, while Doherty had four. Dodenhoff dished out a career-high five assists, while Benvenuto had two goals, one assist, and five ground balls.
Jayla Thompson led Potsdam with four goals and an assist, while MacWilliams and Ladue had three goals.
Senior Julia Hawkins (East Greenbush, NY/Columbia) made three saves in goal, while freshman Margot Haring (Doylestown, PA/Central Bucks) had three. Kimora Swamp had 15 saves for the Bears,
Oneonta next hosts Cortland on Wed. Apr. 2 at 4 p.m.
