NEWTON, Mass.—Freshman forward Stephen Auyer (Oswego, N.Y./Oswego) scored three goals in his Bears debut to help lift the SUNY Potsdam men’s soccer team to a 4-3 win over Baruch in the first round of the Lasell Kickoff Classic.

Fellow freshman forward Eduardo Figueroa (Rochester, N.Y./Dr. Freddie Thomas) scored the game-winner with under 12 minutes to play.

Both teams played a wide-open offensive style from the outset and Baruch’s Kyle Keague put the Bearcats up 1-0 just 4:42 into the game. Auyer got his first at the 11:26 mark, but the Bearcats regained the lead 17 minutes later. Auyer buried his second in the 31st minute and Potsdam never trailed again.

The offensive outburst continued in the second half and Auyer gave the Bears their first lead at 58:19. The 3-2 advantage lasted nearly 18 minutes, but Keague struck again to knot the score at three. Just over two minutes later, junior defender Victor Colasacco (Oceanside, N.Y./Oceanside) set up Figueroa for the decisive marker.

Potsdam junior goalkeeper Joe Glackin (Latham, N.Y./Shaker) made five stops, while Bearcat counterpart Michael Murphy finished with 13 saves. The Bears out shot Baruch 24-11.

“Both teams had a lot of scoring chances,” said Bears Head Coach Adam Parker. “We hit a crossbar with a shot and had a couple other point blank chances. They were dangerous enough to hang around and we obviously have to defend better in the future.”

In addition to his goal scorers, Parker singled out freshman midfielder Jose Bustamante (Ossining, N.Y./Hendrick Hudson) for his effort.

“Jose subbed in after about 20 minutes and played the rest of the game,” added Parker. “It was really hot, humid, and draining out there and Jose seemed unaffected and played very well.”The Bears (1-0) face host Lasell (1-0) in tomorrow’s championship game at 2:30 p.m.