POTSDAM -- The SUNY Potsdam men's soccer team enters the 2017 season off three straight winning years, matching the program record set from 1961-1963. The Bears have also won nine or 10 games in four straight years, also a program best.

Last season, Potsdam posted a strong 9-6-2 overall mark, which included some impressive nonconference victories. The defense registered a 1.36 goals-against-average, the fourth best in the last 40 years. Despite the successes, a young Bears squad missed the SUNYAC playoffs for the first time in four years with a 3-5-1 record. Three SUNYAC losses came by a single goal and one in overtime. As Potsdam heads into its 60th season, eighth-year head coach Adam Parker expects his Bears to use the near miss as motivation to raise the bar higher in 2017.

"I think that's kind of going to eat at the guys a little bit and they know that that's where we want to get back to," said Parker. "Top to bottom the league's still really tough and it's just a matter of whether you can get to four or five wins to get yourselves into the playoffs."

Potsdam returns 21 veterans, including eight seniors, four juniors and nine sophomores. Nine new players join the team. They include five freshmen, two transfers, a senior and a sophomore.

Goalkeepers

The Bears have three goalkeepers on the roster. Sophomore Jakeb Mitchell (Brockport, N.Y./Brockport) wrested the job away from all-time wins leader Nick Davies '17 last season and has been impressive again in the preseason. He was 4-5-1 with a 1.47 G.A.A., a .706 save percentage and two shutouts as a freshman. Senior Keagen Briggs (Peru, N.Y./Seton Catholic) continues to improve and has forced Parker to look for opportunities to get him into contests. Sophomore Esdras Juarez (Tuckahoe, N.Y./Tuckahoe) joins the keepers to give them a third option between the sticks.

Defenders

"I think our strength is really our defense," Parker said. "We're coming off one of our best goals-against seasons and it's against a really good schedule. We've got (senior) Matthew Wagner back, who was all-region last year. Spencer Johnston's back for his senior year and he's played in a ton of games in his previous two seasons here. We lost two outside backs, but we're pretty deep there, whether it's (sophomore) Jeffrey Schulz or freshman Eduardo Sanchez or (sophomore) Josh Eisler, who's expected to come back and start."

Wagner (Bronxville, N.Y./Bronxville) started all 16 games he played last season, picking up the NSCAA honor and his second All-SUNYAC nod. Johnston (Valatie, N.Y./Hudson Valley Community College) started every one of Potsdam's 17 games and assisted on two goals. Schulz (East Moriches, N.Y./Westhampton Beach) played in eight games as a freshman with two starts and Eisler (Commack, N.Y./Commack) started 13 games, while playing in 16 during his debut season. Sanchez (Greenport, N.Y./Greenport) joins the Bears from Greenport where he was all-league, MVP and team captain. Freshman Ryan Potter (Honeoye Falls, N.Y./Honeoye Falls-Lima) joins the defense from Western New York and classmate Jackson Badalich (Plymouth, Ind./Culver Military Academy) treks to the North Country all the way from Indiana.

Midfielders

"Our defensive midfield is very strong," said Parker. "We're really deep there. (Sophomore) Wilber Parada was fantastic at the end of last year. Wilber is very disruptive breaking up passes, winning tackles and although he lacks some size he wins everything in the air. Alongside him could be (sophomore) Adam Kelley, (junior) Matt Saddlemire or (junior) Jorge Ferrer. The back six or seven guys are pretty experienced even though there's also some youth. I feel that core is the strength of our team."

Both Parada (Huntington Station, N.Y./Huntington) and Lisbon native Kelley (Lisbon, N.Y./Lisbon) started four games and played in 13 last season. Saddlemire (Gansevoort, N.Y./Schulerville) played in three games with a start and Ferrer (Syracuse, N.Y./Henninger) saw action in all 17 contests with five starts.

Parker expects his offensive midfielders to step up this season.

"If (senior) Chris Schrum stays healthy, he can score a bunch of goals for us," Parker said. "(Sophomore) Teddy Bruschini is in his second year and is a bit more comfortable. He's really skillful. He just had to get used to the speed of the game and impacting the game at a consistently higher level. (Senior) Djavan Guy, freshman Brendan Wall and California (junior) transfer Michael Hunter-Wofford are competing for an attacking midfield spot. We've been searching for a midfielder with some real creativity in their runs and playmaking ability. I think those three are heading in the right direction."

Schrum (Manhattan, N.Y./Millennium) started all 17 games last season and contributed two goals and two assists. Theodore Bruschini (Wilton, N.Y./South Glens Falls) played in nine games with five starts, while he learned the ropes of the college game. In his first season in Potsdam, Guy (New York, N.Y./St. John's Prep) made 11 starts in 15 games and recorded a goal. Wall (Massapequa Park, N.Y./Massapequa Park) arrives from Massapequa Park where he was all-league. Hunter-Wofford (Carmichael, Calif./Orange Coast Park) crossed the continent to join for the Bears. He played in 18 games, started 11 and scored four goals for junior college Orange Coast last season.

Senior Chris Mayrose (Akron, N.Y./Akron) and junior Tyler Mullery (Holtsville, N.Y./Sachem East) are also back in the midfield. Mayrose played in four games and Mullery made five starts, while playing in all 17 games with an assist. Freshman Miguel Lopez (Rochester, N.Y./World of Inquiry), who may also see time at forward, is another new face to the corps after being all-city in high school.

Forwards

Despite a strong defense and midfield, it'll be up to the offense to determine how far the Bears go this season.

"We need a difference maker in the attack to put us over the hump," said Parker. "If we rely on our defense to keep us in the games, we need to take advantage of when other teams make mistakes and capitalize."

Potsdam has a mixture of veterans and newcomers up front.

"Brandon Laurin's got a ton of experience and has scored some big goals for us. Ritchie Hetherington is back for his senior year. We're expecting him to have an impact and create chances. Transfer Alejandro Callejas was at St. Thomas Aquinas last year. If he can adapt to our system quickly, I think he can really have an impact, score goals for us and create lots of chances."

Laurin played in 16 games last season with 13 starts and scored a career-high four goals. Hetherington saw time in 12 games with two starts and recorded a goal. Callejas played six games for the Division II Spartans in 2016.

Junior Sheku Conteh (Bronx, N.Y./Crotona International) is also back for the Bears after playing in nine games with a start. Sophomores Brandon Igiehon (Dublin, Ireland/Channel View School), Cole Crotty (Queensbury, N.Y./Queensbury) and Million Negash (Syracuse, N.Y./Henninger) also return this season. Igiehon played in 12 games with a start and Crotty picked up minutes in four contests. Potsdam native and senior Ebuka Ononye(Potsdam, N.Y./Potsdam) joins the team to round out the Bears' strikers.

Schedule

Potsdam opens its 60th campaign against CUNY foe Baruch College at 3:30 p.m. this Friday, Sept. 1, in the first round of the sixth Potsdam College Cup. The same time the following afternoon, the Bears square off with the College of Mount Saint Vincent out of the Skyline Conference in the teams' first-ever meeting.

"They're both afternoon games, so the heat's probably going to be a factor," said Parker. "But again, a strength of our team is our depth. Playing all these back to back weekends is what we built our team on."

Potsdam also has nonconference home games with Hobart College (Sept. 14) and Clarkson University (Oct. 24) and road games with SUNY Canton (Sept. 5), Sage Colleges (Sept. 8), Castleton University (Sept. 10) and RPI (Sept. 16). The Bears open up SUNYAC play at Plattsburgh State on Sept. 23.

Follow all the action throughout the season with live stats and video at potsdambears.com beginning with Friday's showdown with the Bearcats.