POTSDAM, N.Y.—The SUNY Potsdam men’s lacrosse team improved to 3-1 on the season with a dominating 19-1 victory over visiting Cazenovia College (0-2) on Tuesday afternoon. Senior Sean McAuliffe (Watertown, N.Y./Watertown), sophomore Derek Frost (Buffalo, N.Y./Williamsville East), junior Chris Mazzeo (Bellmore, N.Y./John F. Kennedy), and junior Zeppy O’Geen (Massena/Massena) each scored three goals for the Bears. In goal, junior Mike Quinlan (Buffalo, N.Y./Williamsville South) won his second straight start.

Potsdam jumped on the Wildcats from the outset, controlling every facet of the game. The Bears built an 11-0 halftime lead and led 16-0 before Cazenovia got on the board at 9:13 of the fourth quarter. Potsdam held a 51-22 advantage in shots, 15-8 in faceoffs, 38-20 in groundballs, and forced 10 of the Wildcats’ 24 turnovers.

Quinlan made just one save in the first quarter, before giving way to sophomore goalie Stephan Sloma (Niskayuna, N.Y./Niskayuna) who stopped seven shots in the second period. Senior goalie Pat Corbine (Canton, N.Y./Hugh C. Williams) made three saves in the third quarter and sophomore goalie Paul Gordon (Maine, N.Y./Maine-Endwell) rounded out the group with five saves in final 15 minutes.

Junior Dylan West (Hauppauge, N.Y./Hauppauge) scored for the Wildcats on an assist from junior Jevon Pakkala (Newfield, N.Y./Newfield Central). In goal, Cazenovia junior Alex Iannicello (Warners, N.Y./West Genesee) played the first three quarters making eight saves and allowing 16 goals. Freshman Pat Boyle (Syracuse, N.Y./Henninger) finished the game, allowing three goals and stopping four shots.

Bears Head Coach Rick Berkman said a key to the win was setting the tone early.

"At the beginning of the game we kind of showed them that we were going to win the faceoffs today, so we had a lot more possessions than they did in the first half,” said Berkman. “Cazenovia came out and played hard, and made us work hard on offense, but eventually we got some rhythm going and scored some goals down there."

Potsdam relied on it’s the usual suspects to get the offense rolling and once again they were very successful.

"It's getting pretty common to bring up Zeppy O'Geen, (sophomore) Robbie Ashlaw (North Syracuse, N.Y./Cicero-N. Syracuse), (sophomore) Kyle Nicholas (Syracuse, N.Y./Westhill) and the guys up front,” said Berkman. “They're getting the offense going pretty well down there and when they do, we're pretty tough to stop."

Despite the victory and the fast start to the season, Berkman admitted he expects to see more improvement from his team, especially the newcomers.

"There are a lot of things that have to get better. Our young guys are starting to come along, but we're not going to win any big games this year without a big contribution from the underclassmen. They've got to keep getting better at the roles we're giving them. Hopefully they'll be able to help us down the road,” added Berkman.

The Bears are back in action on Saturday, March 19, when they head to Oneonta, N.Y., on for a 1 p.m. battle with the Hartwick Hawks.