POTSDAM, N.Y.—The SUNY Potsdam men's soccer team (2-1-1) fell to Skidmore College (2-1) 4-1 on Friday night at Maxcy Turf Field. Junior defender Eric Cassidy (Queensbury, N.Y./Queensbury) scored his first collegiate goal to get the Bears on the board first. However, the Thoroughbreds pulled away in the second half. Adam Beek had two goals and two assists for Skidmore.

In the first half, the teams squared off evenly. Both the Bears and the Thoroughbreds played strong defense. Cassidy (Queensbury, N.Y./Queensbury) struck at 13:45 on an assist from junior forward Stephen Auyer (Oswego, N.Y./Oswego). Nearly two minutes later, Adam Beek to tied the game with a penalty kick. In the 27th minute, Brock Bakewell gave Skidmore the lead for good when he headed a ball into the net that Potsdam sophomore goalie Nick Davies (Webster, N.Y./Webster Thomas) appeared to have under control. Beek assisted on the goal. The Thoroughbreds took the 2-1 lead into the break.

The second half heated up with multiple yellow cards given to both teams, but Skidmore continued to control the play. The Thoroughbreds tacked on two more goals from Augustine Okoye and Beek to build a 4-1 advantage just 19 minutes into the second half. Potsdam created several quality scoring chances, but couldn't close the gap. The Skidmore defense played steady the remainder of the contest to run out the clock.

Skidmore goalie Eli Kisselbach finished with two saves and earned the win, while Davies stopped three shots.

The shots were even at 11 apiece, but the Thoroughbreds finished with a 6-3 edge in corner kicks.

The Bears face the Sage Colleges Gators tomorrow at Maxcy Turf Field at 3:30 p.m. following the women's game at 1 p.m.