ONEONTA, N.Y. -- In a cold, snowy, and scrappy SUNYAC opener that included nine ties and six lead changes, the Oneonta men's lacrosse team defeated Potsdam, 12-11, Saturday afternoon at Red Dragon Field. The Bears tied the game at 10 with 7:11 to play, then senior
Shakim Carr (Brooklyn, N.Y./John Dewey) scored the go-ahead goal before freshman
Ryan Babikian (Jamesville, NY/Jamesville-Dewitt) recorded the game-winner in the final three minutes of play to secure the Red Dragons conference opening win. The victory improved Oneonta to 4-5 this season, 1-0 in the SUNYAC, and Potsdam dropped to 5-2 overall and 0-1 in league play.
Junior
Thomas Hnis (Smithtown, N.Y./Kings Park) scored the game-high six goals for six points with three ground balls, while senior
Jamie O'Neil (Bath, N.Y./Haverling) finished the day with five points from one goal and four assists. Both Babikian and Carr totaled three points as Babikian had two goals with an assist, and Carr had a goal and two assists. Senior
Daniel Macchiarella (Guilderland, N.Y./Guilderland) recorded two assists in the win.
"Great to be 1-0 in the SUNYAC," said Head Coach
Pete Owens. "We have a lot to work on in a few phases of the game, but I'm proud of how the guys made plays in the fourth quarter."
Jumping into the fourth quarter with the game tied at seven, Potsdam scored the first goal of the final period before Carr assisted a pair of Oneonta goals to take a 9-8 lead at 10:32. O'Neil fired in the first goal, his 12th of the season, to tie it at eight before sophomore
Cody Sharp (Ballston Lake, N.Y./Burnt Hills Ballston Lake) netted his fifth goal of the season for the slight edge.
Babikian recorded his first of the game to maintain the Red Dragons lead after Billy Kozloski scored for the Bears, then the visitors tied it at 10 with a goal from Rowisonkies Barnes with 7:11 to play.
Following a few empty possessions from both sides, Oneonta finally took the lead for good with Carr's third goal of the season with 2:50 left. The Red Dragon senior restarted play from the back left corner of the attack area, sprinted past his defender and lasered the ball above the shoulder of the Bears keeper into the far post before taking an unnecessary hit from a defender.
The officials penalized Potsdam with a 1:00 unnecessary roughness call on the hit, and in the closing seconds of the Red Dragons man-up advantage, Babikian scored the game-winning goal with 1:51 remaining. Junior
Aidan Boyle (Yorktown Heights, N.Y./Yorktown) had the ball behind the net and passed it to O'Neil, who quickly dished it to Babikian in the center of the zone. The Jamesville, N.Y. freshman then fired the ball into the top right of the net for his 11th goal of the year for a 12-10 Oneonta lead. The assist from O'Neil was his 30th of the season, which currently leads the SUNYAC.
Potsdam made it a one-goal game with 1:29 to play, but they were unable to score one more to force overtime. With 23 seconds left, Morgan Fox had the final shot on net for the Bears, however sophomore goalie
Mark Restivo (Merrick, NY/Sanford H. Calhoun) used his body to save the open shot on him. Potsdam had one more shot attempt from the top of the attack area with a second left, but it went wide of the goal and Oneonta held on for the win.
The contest started as a defensive showdown with both teams only scoring one goal in the first quarter. Hnis scored the first goal of the game with an assist from O'Neil before Barnes answered with one for the Bears at 7:22.
Hnis netted two more goals in the second quarter, with one being assisted by Babikian, however Barnes recorded two goals in the period as Potsdam totaled three and took a 4-3 lead into halftime.
The Bears Kozloski scored with a man-up for the first goal of the third quarter, then the Red Dragons answered with three straight to go up 6-5 at 10:14. Hnis tallied two man-up scores with both being assisted by Macchiarella, before sophomore
Riley Royals (New Hyde Park, NY/Herricks) netted his ninth goal of the season off a pass from O'Neil. With 6:15 left Hnis scored his SUNYAC-leading 34th goal of the season with an assist from O'Neil. Potsdam put up two more goals to end the third quarter tied at seven, though in the end it was Oneonta who ended on top.
Restivo finished with nine saves for a .450 save percentage in the win. Sophomore
Hunter Busch (Babylon, N.Y./Babylon) caused six turnovers and collected two ground balls, and senior
Aidan Greene (Smithtown, NY/Smithtown West) picked up seven ground balls and caused three turnovers.
Potsdam's Saka Thompson finished the game with 13 saves for a .520 save percentage. Thompson entered the contest ranked third in the nation in save percentage (.686). Kozloski had the game-high eight points with three goals and five assists, while Barnes totaled five goals and an assist for six points.
Oneonta outshot Potsdam 48-44 in total shots, 25-20 on net, while Potsdam finished with a 32-30 edge in ground balls. The Red Dragons were 23-for-30 on clear attempts and 3-for-5 on extra man opportunities, and the Bears were 22-for-25 on clears and 1-for-4 on the man-up advantage.
The Red Dragons are back in action on Friday, April 3, for a SUNYAC road game in Morrisville against the Mustangs at 7:00 pm.
