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Bears women's lax edge Bengals in SUNYAC opener, McClusky reaches second on scoring list

Posted 4/3/16

BUFFALO, N.Y.—The SUNY Potsdam women's lacrosse team (4-3, 1-0 SUNYAC) opened and closed its SUNYAC opener with big runs to defeat Buffalo State (3-6, 0-1) 15-13 on Saturday afternoon. The victory …

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Bears women's lax edge Bengals in SUNYAC opener, McClusky reaches second on scoring list

Posted

BUFFALO, N.Y.—The SUNY Potsdam women's lacrosse team (4-3, 1-0 SUNYAC) opened and closed its SUNYAC opener with big runs to defeat Buffalo State (3-6, 0-1) 15-13 on Saturday afternoon. The victory was the Bears' first over the Bengals since 2005. Senior attack Bri McClusky (Watertown, N.Y./Immaculate Heart) had a game-high seven points on two goals and five assists. The performance pushes her past hall of famer Alisha Schaad-Waite '08 into second place on the program's all-time scoring list with 170 points (79g, 91a). Junior midfielders Murphy Newman (Canton, N.Y./Berkshire School) and Michaela Cole (Parishville, N.Y./Parishville-Hopkinton) also had big days with five (4g, 1a) and four (4g) points, respectively.

Potsdam opened the contest on a 6-2 tear over the first 23 minutes. Newman, scored three times during the stretch, Cole twice and McClusky capped the run with one. McClusky and junior attack Katie Lapinski (Canton, N.Y./Hugh C. Williams) each recorded assists during the hot start. The Bengals struck back with a 5-1 answer and the game was tied at 7-7 at the break. Alanne Herne scored twice for Buffalo State and Cole notched the Bears' final goal of the half at 2:31.

The Bengals continued their momentum with a 5-2 start to the second half. Junior attack Mariah Pierce (Syracuse, N.Y./Westhill) and Lapinski each scored to keep Potsdam in striking distance, but the Bears trailed 12-9 with 21:54 to play. However, it was nearly all Potsdam for the rest of the day. Senior midfielder Maggie McCabe (Camillus, N.Y./West Genesee) scored at 19:26 off an assist from McClusky to ignite a game-winning 6-1 run to close the contest. Herne answered 3:10 later to make it 13-10, but Buffalo State didn't score again. Cole scored her fourth at 14:30. McClusky set up Newman's fourth at 7:59 and the duo then switched roles to tie the game with 4:45 to play. McClusky found freshman midfielder Cayla O'Connor (Dexter, N.Y./General Brown) with 1:57 left for the decisive goal and Lapinski gave the Bears insurance with 44 seconds remaining to seal the win.

Junior goalie Devan Olschewske (Canandaigua, N.Y./Canandaigua) made 13 saves for her 12th career victory. Elyse Stark stopped five shots for the Bengals.

Herne finished with six goals and an assist for seven points for Buffalo State, while teammate Christina Krowel contributed three goals and two assists.

Next, the Bears will head to SUNY Cortland on Tuesday for a 4 p.m. contest with the top-ranked and defending national champion Red Dragons.