POTSDAM, N.Y.—Oswego State (4-3, 1-2 SUNYAC) used a big second half run and rallied past the SUNY Potsdam women’s lacrosse team (4-8, 0-4) in two overtimes, 13-12. Oswego’s Rachel Raffa scored on a free position with 1:34 left in the second overtime to give the Lakers the sudden-victory win. Junior Carly Richards (Niskayuna, N.Y./Niskayuna) scored a game-high five goals and recorded an assist to lead the Bears. Potsdam junior Maribeth Simmons (Clinton, Conn./The Morgan School) contributed four goals and an assist and fellow junior Aubrey Macintosh (Burnt Hills, N.Y./Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake) chipped in two tallies.

Potsdam jumped out in front early as senior Sam Brown (Rochester, N.Y./Eastridge) put the Bears up 1-0 just 2:41 into the contest. After Oswego tied the game nine minutes later, Potsdam went on a 4-0 run, all on free positions. The Bears got goals from Macintosh and Richards and two from Simmons to build the 5-1 lead at the 5:30 mark. Raffa closed the gap to 5-2 with a free position goal at 2:09, but Potsdam took the three-goal advantage into halftime. Potsdam outshot the Lakers 14-6 in the first half. Bears Head Coach Lauren Bruce credited her defense with making the difference early.

“(Senior) Kathleen Frear (Scotia, N.Y./Scotia-Glenville), (junior) Lisa Seidel (Vancouver, British Columbia/Dr. Charles Best), and (freshman) Dana Malloy (Brewster, N.Y./Brewster) really played well in the first half,” said Bruce. “They caused some huge turnovers to keep us in front.”

The second half started in the same manner as Richards struck for two goals in the first two minutes to extend the lead to 7-2. The Laker offense woke up after the goals and started a 7-0 run of their own for a 9-7 advantage with 3:14 left in regulation. Richards and Macintosh followed the run with the next two to tie the game with two minutes left. Kayla Curatalo put Oswego back in front 18 seconds later, but Simmons tied the score with 58 seconds remaining to force overtime. Bears junior goalie Kaci Milligan (Liverpool, N.Y./Bishop Ludden) made eight of her 13 saves in the second half.

In the first six-minute overtime, Oswego took 11-10 and 12-11 leads but the Bears answered with goals from Simmons at 1:27 and Richards at 0:20 to force a second overtime. Milligan added three more saves to her total. In the sudden-death second overtime, defenses dominated until Raffa broke the stalemate with 1:34 left.

In goal for the Lakers, Nicole Nalle played the first 24:30, allowing five goals and stopping two shots. Ashlee Engel played the remaining 45:56, giving up seven tallies and making nine saves for the victory. Raffa led Oswego with four goals and two assists and Erin Cummings added four goals and one helper.

“Our girls were really fighting for it,” Bruce added. “They did everything I asked them to do and they played well. Maribeth Simmons and Carly Richards really deserve a lot of credit. They were marked out most of the game and still put up some big numbers for us.”

Potsdam finishes its four-game road trip at Fredonia on Saturday, April 16, at 1 p.m.