POTSDAM, N.Y.—The SUNY Potsdam men's lacrosse team (8-1) is off to the best start in its 40-year history. The Bears jumped out to a 6-1 lead and never looked back en route to an 18-7 victory over SUNY Canton (3-5) on Tuesday night. Senior captain Ed Doherty (Amherst, N.Y./Amherst) scored four goals, givining him 102 points for his career on 85 goals and 17 assists. Senior captain Pat Bonafede (Churchville, N.Y./Churchville-Chili) had two goals and an assist to put him over the century mark with 63 goals and 38 assists for 101 points. Sophomore midfielder Nick Orsini (Fairport, N.Y./Fairport) had a career-high four points on three goals and an assist, while sophomore attackman Eric Soderquist (Watertown, N.Y./Watertown) contributed two goals and two assists. 13 different Bears recorded at least a point in the win.

Junior midfielder Matt Moran (Watertown, N.Y./Immaculate Heart) got the Bears rolling with an unassisted goal 1:02 into the contest. Another 1:02 later, Soderquist found junior attackman Berkley Stone (Madison, Conn./Daniel Hand) to make it 2-0. At the 8:03 mark, Kangaroos sophomore attackman Trenton Yule (Oswego, N.Y./Oswego) slowed Potsdam's momentum with Canton's first goal of the night. However, the Bears answered with the next four straight. Bonafede started the run at 5:32. Doherty followed suit at 4:51 and Orsini notched his first of the night with 27 seconds left in the quarter. Potsdam led 5-1 after 15 minutes.

Bonafede capped the run at 11:28 of the second quarter, giving Potsdam a 5-1 lead. Less than two minutes later, senior midfielder Chris Gamble (Carthage, N.Y./Carthage) netted the Roos second goal. Doherty scored the next two in succession at 7:08 and 5:59 with assists from senior defender Lindsey Pound (Henderson, N.Y./Immaculate Heart) and Soderquist, respectively. Yule scored the final goal of the half at 3:12 and Canton trailed 8-3 at the break.

Soderquist started the second half with a man-up goal on an assist from Bonafede at 12:46. After Roos freshman attackman Kyle Smith (Evans Mills, N.Y./Indian River) closed the gap to 9-4 with 9:34 left in the third quarter, the Bears ripped off the next six in a row to take a commanding 15-4 lead just 27 seconds into the fourth quarter. Doherty, senior midfielder Brian Martin (Fairport, N.Y./Fairport), Soderquist, Moran and Orsini each scored during the stretch to make it 14-4 after 45 minutes.

Freshman midfielder Gabe Carbone (Accord, N.Y./Rontout Valley) extended Potsdam's lead to 11 with his first collegiate goal at 14:33 of the final quarter. Nearly two minutes later, midfielder Devin Gruneisen (Potsdam, N.Y./Potsdam) got Canton back to within 15-5. The Bears answered with another three straight from Orsini, senior attackman Joe Hayes (Black River, N.Y./Carthage) and junior attackman Michael Roukous (Dexter, N.Y./General Brown) to grab their biggest advantage of the contest at 18-5. Yule and Gruneisen scored the final two of the game for the 18-7 final.

In goal, Potsdam senior Jackson Corcoran (Rochester, N.Y./Churchville-Chili) stopped four shots in 45 minutes for his first career win. Junior Jack Bezek (Webster, N.Y./Webster Thomas) made one save in the next 4:45. In their collegiate debuts, freshmen Zach Sheridan (Cicero, N.Y./Cicero-North Syracuse) and Sean Coe (Baldwinsville, N.Y./C.W. Baker) finished with two and one save in the final 10:15. Canton Freshman Kody Kocsis (Brasher Falls, N.Y./St. Lawrence Central) put in a solid effort with 17 saves.

Bears senior Brandon Grace (Penn Yan, N.Y./Penn Yan) won 10 of the 14 faceoffs he took during the contest.

Potsdam outshot Canton 45-22 and forced 15 of the Roos' 26 turnovers. The Bears also collected 47 ground balls to Canton's 27. Potsdam was 1-for-3 in extra-man opportunities and held Canton to no goals in two chances.

The Bears return to SUNYAC play on Saturday when they travel to SUNY Geneseo for a noon showdown with the Blue Knights. Potsdam has won four of the teams' last six meetings, including last year's 8-7 thriller, but hasn't won at Geneseo since 2000.