CORTLAND, N.Y. – The fourth-seeded Potsdam men's lacrosse team scored the last two goals of the game and held on for an 8-7 victory at top-seeded Cortland in the SUNYAC Semifinals Wednesday night at Grady Field. The Red Dragons dropped to 11-5, while the Bears improved to 10-5 and face second-seeded Geneseo in the championship game on Saturday.

Caden Yancey (Fayetteville/Fayetteville-Manlius) led Cortland with two goals and assist, while Bradley Cunningham (Syracuse/West Genesee) also netted two goals. Sam Rothman (Dix Hills/Half Hollow Hills East) tallied a goal and an assist, Nick Stoecker (East Setauket/Ward Melville) and Aidan McHugh (Maine/Maine-Endwell) each scored a goal and Sean Kavanagh (North Canton/Hoover) collected an assist.

Goalie Travis Wagner registered 15 saves for the Red Dragons. McHugh won eight faceoffs, Christian Lembo (Farmingdale) and Dino Bowen (Yorktown) each contributed four ground balls and two caused turnovers, Conner Gallagher (Northport) secured four ground balls and Alex Thrasher (Vestal) finished with three ground balls and two caused turnovers.

Owen Walsh paced Potsdam with four goals and an assist. Cobie Cree recorded a goal and three assists, Peyton Walsh, Tyler Gould and Ryan Wassmer each scored a goal and Drew Rose contributed an assist.

Goalie Saka Thompson stopped 11 shots and collected two ground balls. Drew Costello won 10-of-19 faceoffs and scooped up six ground balls. Alex Farben-Griggs secured five ground balls, Cree added three ground balls and two caused turnovers and Ben Lagoner collected five ground balls.

The game featured five mini-goal runs by the teams. The Bears opened up a 2-0 lead early in the game with scores just 44 seconds apart. After the teams traded goals to end the quarter with Potsdam ahead 3-1, the Red Dragons ran together three consecutive goals, two in the second quarter and one to open the third quarter, to grab a 4-3 lead.

Potsdam answered with three goals in just over a four-minute span to take a 6-4 advantage at the 2:14 mark of the third quarter. Yancey's first goal of the game seven seconds before the end of the quarter pulled Cortland to within 6-5 entering the final 15 minutes of play.

Yancey and McHugh gave the Red Dragons back the lead, 7-6, with back-to-back goals in just an eight-second span to open the fourth quarter. Gould tied the game with a man-up goal at 11:07, and Owen Walsh scored what proved to be the game winner at 6:10.

As the game wound down, Wagner made a key save on Peyton Walsh's shot with 1:21 remaining. Cortland called timeout after a successful clear, but the Red Dragons turned the ball over with 27 seconds to play. The Bears worked a good clear before Tucker Macknik (Baldwinsville/C.W. Baker) forced a turnover inside of 10 seconds. Travis Moehringer (Stony Brook/Ward Melville) collected the ground ball, but the time expired before Cortland could clear the ball for a possible game-tying attempt as the Bears sealed the 8-7 win.

UPDATE (May 4):  Wagner was named to the SUNYAC All-Tournament Team at the conclusion of the tournament. 

Potsdam 8, Cortland 7

GAME SUMMARY:

Team                  1-2-3-4  Final
Potsdam             3-0-3-2       8
Cortland              1-2-2-2       7

Scoring (Goals-Assists):
Potsdam: Owen Walsh 4-1, Cobie Cree 1-3, Peyton Walsh 1-0, Tyler Gould 1-0, Ryan Wassmer 1-0, Drew Rose 0-1
Cortland: Caden Yancey 2-1, Bradley Cunningham 2-0, Sam Rothman 1-1, Nick Stoecker 1-0, Aidan McHugh 1-0, Sean Kavanagh 0-1

Goalkeepers:
Potsdam: Saka Thompson, 11 saves (7 GA in 60:00)
Cortland: Travis Wagner, 15 saves (8 GA in 60:00)

Shots: Potsdam 45, Cortland 41
Ground Balls: Cortland 34, Potsdam 34
Turnovers: Potsdam 16, Cortland 14
Caused Turnovers: Cortland 9, Potsdam 5
Clears: Cortland 21-of-25, Potsdam 20-of-25
Faceoffs Won: Potsdam 10, Cortland 9
Penalties: Potsdam 4-3:00, Cortland 4-3:00
Extra-Man Offense: Potsdam 2-4, Cortland 0-2

Records after game: Cortland (Red Dragons) 11-5, Potsdam (Bears) 10-5