POTSDAM, N.Y.—Utica College (1-0) used a strong second half to defeat the SUNY Potsdam women's lacrosse team (1-3) 14-5 on Saturday afternoon in the Bears' home opener. Junior defender
Mackenzie King (Brighton, N.Y./Brighton) had two goals and an assist for Potsdam, while junior midfielder
Cayla O'Connor (Dexter, N.Y./General Brown) had two goals.
Pioneers' Brooke Miller gave them an early lead off the pass of Lauren Wolff 1:10 into the contest. The lead was short lived as Bears senior midfielder
Danielle Pound (Henderson, N.Y./Immaculate Heart) scored an unassisted goal two minutes later. Less than a minute after Pound's goal, Utica's Lauren Wolff regained the lead with a free-position marker. The game started to slow down, only for Potsdam to score two quick goals. King knotted the game up, then proceeded to set up O'Connor to give the Bears a 3-2 lead with 17:01 left in the half. Katlyn Scarpinella tied the game up at 13:03 and Utica continued to keep the pressure on junior goalie
Katie Longamore (Dexter, N.Y./General Brown). As the time ticked down, the Pioneers had seven consecutive shots stopped by Longamore, before Katie McDowell made it 4-3 with 2:21 left. Utica took the one-goal advantage into the break.
Scarpinella made it 5-3 at 27:37, but the Bears rallied for two goals in a less than a minute a minute to tie the game. King scored the first at 23:59 and O'Connor made it 5-5 at 23:11. Despite the spurt, the Pioneers pulled away with nine straight. During the stretch Miller scored three goals, while Hailee DuMont and Kaitlynn Palmer each scored twice. Wolff assisted on three of the goals during the run, and the Pioneers closed out the 14-5 victory.
Longamore had a strong day with 14 saves, while Utica's goalie Hali Vandermeulen stopped nine shots. Longamore also registered six ground balls and Pound caused two turnovers.
O'Connor now has 17 points (12g, 5a) this season, giving her 51 (36g, 15a) for her career and moving her into 19th place on the program's scoring list.
The Bears are back in action on Saturday at 1 p.m. when the travel to Utica to face SUNY Poly for the first time in program history.
