POTSDAM -- The SUNY Potsdam women’s soccer team (1-0) scored three second half goals Saturday to down New England College (0-1) 4-1 in the first round of the Collegiate Village Cup.

Four different Bears scored to lead the offense. In the other first round game, Castleton State (1-0) thumped Becker College (0-1) 7-0. Sophomore forward Mallory Costello (Vernon, N.J./Vernon Township) scored twice to lead the Spartans.

Potsdam’s defense was smothering in the first half, allowing just two shots on goal, but the Bears’ offense took a little time to get in gear.

Potsdam put five of its seven shots on goal in the opening 45 minutes and got on the board with the last one. Sophomore defender Summer Bader (Atlanta, Ga./Lakeland) connected with freshman forward Alexis Beach (Chateaugay, N.Y./Chateaugay).

Beach then beat her defender and the goalkeeper to score her first collegiate goal. The Bears led 1-0 at the half. Potsdam opened the game up offensively in the second half.

Freshman midfielder Kaylen Van Wagner (Red Hook, N.Y./Hotchkiss) drove the ball into the top of the net for an unassisted goal in the 57th minute.

The Pilgrims answered five minutes later as freshman forward Lauren Smith (Nashua, N.H./Nashua South) headed a pass from sophomore midfielder Caroline Mols (Verona, N.J./Verona) into the net.

The contest remained tight over the next 16 minutes before the Bears broke out for the final two tallies.

Bader sent a long pass ahead that freshman forward Hailey Hollenbeck (Hudson, N.Y./Hudson) roofed to put Potsdam up 3-1. In the 88th minute, junior midfielder Keely Sammon (Lowville, N.Y./Lowville) put the game away, lofting a pass from Beach over the goalkeeper for the 4-1 final.

Bears head coach Mark Misiak very pleased with the result. “Barring the first 20 minutes, I thought we played really well, Misiak said.

“I told the girls that in the time I’ve been here this is our best win as a program. New England is a very good opponent that we faced today. And when the score became 2-1, we could have easily sat back to run the clock. Instead we pressed and went on to score two really good goals.

I’m really pleased with the effort and the intensity of the team. And even though we’re very young, I thought we showed a lot of character today.”

The Bears outshot the Pilgrims 12-5 and doubled them up in corner kicks 6-3. Parishville native Michaela Cole (Parishville, N.Y./Parishville-Hopkinton) made one save in 45 minutes to earn her first win. Freshman Sara Livecchi (Red Hook, N.Y./Red Hook) made two stops in the final half for Potsdam.

Junior goalie Tricia Sardagnola (Shrewsbury, Mass./Assabet Valley) made five saves for New England.

In the early game Castleton State controlled the play from the outset. At the 10:22 mark, Costello sent a header into the net off a cross from Massena native Dominique Valancius (Massena, N.Y./Massena) for a 1-0 lead. Just 50 seconds later a Becker defender deflected a ball into her own net for an own goal.

In the 18th minute, Costello struck again, this time off a pass from sophomore midfielder Jenna Bostwick (Pembroke, Mass./Pembroke). Freshman forward Hailey Stewart (North Windham, Conn./Windham) capped the first half scoring with a helper from sophomore defender Kim French (White River Junction, Vt./People’s Academy) at 39:58.

The Spartans carried the 4-0 lead into the break. Castleton didn’t take its foot off the gas in the second half. Junior defender Halie Roberge (Southington, Conn./Southington) fed Valancius who scored on a breakaway in the 52nd minute.

At 59:21, sophomore defender Allison Vachon (Southington, Conn./Southington) set up freshman forward Nicole Wershoven (Southington, Conn./Southington) for a 6-0 advantage. Freshman midfielder Morgan Young (Fairfax, Vt./BFA-Fairfax) capped the score with an unassisted marker in the 81st minute.

The Spartans outshot the Hawks 50-1 on the afternoon. Freshman goalkeeper Jessica Binkowski (Goshen, Conn./Wamogo) earned the win with no saves in 65:59. Freshman goalie Brielle DeBaise (Meriden, Conn./Francis T. Maloney) finished up the shutout over the final 24:01. Junior goalie Kaitlyn Rose (North Attleboro, Mass./North Attleboro) went the distance for Becker.

New England squares off with Becker at noon today, while the Bears battle Castleton State at 2:30 p.m.