WEST PALM BEACH, Fla -- The SUNY Potsdam women’s lacrosse team started its 2011 campaign in style, rolling past Colby-Sawyer 20-8 on Monday night.

Junior Carly Richards (Niskayuna, N.Y./Niskayuna) led the Bear outburst with a game-high five goals and an assist, while fellow junior Sierra Langkammerer (Fayetteville, N.Y./Fayetteville-Manlius) contributed four tallies and a helper.

In the first half, Potsdam fell behind 1-0 and 2-1 before scoring four straight goals in a three-minute span to take the lead for good.

Langkammerer started the run at the 22:35 mark and junior Maribeth Simmons (Clinton, Conn./The Morgan School) capped it with her first goal of the day, giving the Bears a 5-2 advantage.

The Chargers cut the lead to 5-3 with a marker at 17:10, but the Bears responded with a five-goal run to take control of the game with a 10-3 advantage. The teams traded a goal apiece over the last six minutes and Potsdam took an 11-4 lead into halftime.

Richards started a 3-0 run just 34 seconds into the second half and the Bears led by 10 with 25:11 remaining. The middle of the period was marked by Colby-Sawyer and Potsdam trading goals, but the Chargers never got within nine for the rest of the contest.

Richards finished the second half the way she’d started it, scoring at the 3:29 mark and igniting a 3-0 Potsdam run to close out the game. Simmons finished with two goals and two assists, while juniors Aubrey Macintosh (Burnt Hills, N.Y./Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake) and Whitney Boshart (Calcium, N.Y./Indian River) each added three goals.

Kate Rial paced the Chargers with three goals. Bears junior goalie Kaci Milligan (Liverpool, N.Y./Bishop Ludden) made four saves for the victory. Colby-Sawyer’s Ekta Sampson recorded the loss, allowing 14 goals and stopping four shots in 35:48.

Liz Malenfant allowed six goals and made four saves in the final 24:12. Richards six-point performance places her just 26 points (97 goals-40 assists-137 points) behind Potsdam’s all-time leading scorer, Alisha Schaad ’08 (139-24-163).

The Bears (1-0) close out their Florida trip tomorrow when they battle the Bridgewater State Bears at 7 p.m.