CANTON, N.Y.—Junior forward Brandon Laurin (Chazy, N.Y./Chazy) and freshman forward Jorge Ferrer (Syracuse, N.Y./Henninger) each scored as the SUNY Potsdam men's soccer team (9-5-1, 3-3-1 SUNYAC) downed SUNY Fredonia (2-10-3, 1-4-1) 2-1 on Senior Day. The victory moves the Bears into fifth place, just a point out of a home playoff spot with a weekend to play. The win was also Potsdam's ninth of the season, matching the program record for the third consecutive season.

Prior to the game, Potsdam honored its 12 seniors. Goalie Jesse Kohler (Middletown, N.Y./Tompkins-Cortland C.C.), midfielder Mario Riccardi (Beacon, N.Y./Beacon), captain Ben Firlit (South Glens Falls, N.Y./South Glens Falls), forward Stephen Auyer (Oswego, N.Y./Oswego), midfielder Patrick Mylod (Clifton Park, N.Y./Shenendehowa), captain Tom Benedetto (Queensbury, N.Y./Queensbury), midfielder Johnny Zator (Lido Beach, N.Y./Long Beach), defender Andrew Doody (Troy, N.Y./Tamarac), midfielder Kyle Cronin (Rochester, N.Y./Rush-Henrietta), defender Alex Griffith (Henrietta, N.Y./Rush-Henrietta), defender James Turcott (Washingtonville, N.Y./Washingtonville) and forward Rondely Rawlins (Brooklyn, N.Y./Erasmus Hall) have won 31 games in their careers, the most of any class in Potsdam soccer history.

Potsdam and the Blue Devils squared off in a wide open offensive contest once the snow flurries stopped. Benedetto, Laurin, and Firlit each created great chances in the opening 15 minutes, but couldn't convert them into goals. Laurin finally got the Bears on the board at 17:29. The junior took the ball way from a Fredonia defender and drove it into the right corner of the goal. After several strong saves from Kohler, the Devils answered. Junior forward Parker Healy (East Aurora, N.Y./East Aurora) looped a cross to the right side of the net and junior forward Ryan Keller (East Aurora, N.Y./East Aurora) was there to knock it home. The chances kept coming for both teams. After a Potsdam corner kick, sophomore defender Matthew Wagner fed freshman forward Jorge Ferrer (Syracuse, N.Y./Henninger) and he beat Fredonia freshman goalie Jeremy Bari (Niagara Falls, N.Y./Niagara-Whitfield) to make it 2-1. The score was unchanged at the break.

Both defenses played a much tighter game in the final period. The Bears held the edge in play, but shots were hard to come by. After much of the competition taking place at midfield, the Blue Devils' last best chance to tie the game came with less than five minutes left. Senior midfielder Noah Voss (Fredonia, N.Y./Fredonia) broke loose for a cross in front of the goal, but the ball skipped away and rolled over the end line. For the remainder of the contest, the Bears kept the ball in the Fredonia half of the field to seal the victory.

Kohler made six saves to earn his seventh win of the season. Bari turned aside seven Potsdam chances.

The Bears outshot the Blue Devils 16-13, but Fredonia earned seven corners to Potsdam's two.

The Bears determine their playoff fate next weekend with games at Brockport and Geneseo.