PLATTSBURGH, N.Y.—SUNY Plattsburgh (9-2, 2-0 SUNYAC) used a five-goal fourth quarter to pull away from the SUNY Potsdam men’s lacrosse team (5-7, 2-1) for a 11-6 SUNYAC victory on Tuesday afternoon. Tim Lawrence had three goals and two assists for Cardinals. Junior Peter Pike led the Bears with a goal and two assists and senior Sean McAuliffe (Watertown, N.Y./Watertown) had two tallies.

Plattsburgh scored the only two goals of the first quarter and a third just 26 seconds into the second quarter for a 3-0 advantage. At the 10:19 mark sophomore Kyle Nicholas (Syracuse, N.Y./Westhill) got Potsdam on the board with a man-up goal with an assist from sophomore Robbie Ashlaw (North Syracuse, N.Y./Cicero-North Syracuse). The Cardinals regained the two-goal lead just two minutes later, but junior Ryan Paparella (Whitesboro, N.Y./Whitesboro) set up Pike with 2:10 left in the half and the Bears trailed just 4-2 at the break.

Senior Kevin Green (Penfield, N.Y./Penfield) opened the second half with a goal just eight seconds into the third quarter, closing the gap to 4-3 with an assist from Pike. Plattsburgh answered 16 seconds later, but Potsdam tied the game at five with two goals in 16 seconds. Sophomore Derek Frost (Buffalo, N.Y./Williamsville East) capitalized on a man-up situation at 7:07 and McAuliffe netted an even strength goal at 6:51. Plattsburgh regained the lead for good at 2:10 and took the 6-5 advantage into the final quarter.

The Cardinals took control in the final quarter with a 5-0 run that extended their lead to 11-5 and ate up all but the last 52 seconds. McAuliffe closed out the scoring with three seconds left as the Bears fell 11-6.

Potsdam senior goalie Pat Corbine (Canton, N.Y./Hugh C. Williams) allowed 10 goals and made 15 saves in 58:06. Sophomore Stephan Sloma (Niskayuna, N.Y./Niskayuna) played the remainder of the game, giving up one goal. Plattsburgh’s Danny Caufield allowed just five goals and made 10 stops for the win in 59:08, while Gordie Gehring allowed a goal in the last 52 seconds.

The Bears were 2-for-5 on the man advantage and the Cardinals went 0-for-4.

“Overall we played well, but couldn’t finish the chances we needed to win the game,” said Bears Head Coach Rick Berman. “In the third quarter it was back-and-forth and with some breaks we easily could have been up two or three. The turning point was in the fourth quarter when Plattsburgh won all seven faceoffs. They made some plays, and scored some goals. Pat Corbine had another strong game for us and (junior) Rashaun Durden (Buffalo, N.Y./Williamsville East) played well on defense, really shutting down their leading scorer.”

Next, the Bears host Fredonia on Saturday, April 16, for a 1 p.m. SUNYAC battle.