POTSDAM, N.Y.—The SUNY Potsdam women’s lacrosse team evened its record at 4-4 with a 23-10 victory over visiting Morrisville State (0-4) on Wednesday afternoon. Junior Carly Richards (Niskayuna, N.Y./Niskayuna) scored five goals and recorded an assist, tying her with Alisha Schaad ’08 at the top of the Bears’ all-time scoring list with 163 points. Juniors Maribeth Simmons (Clinton, Conn.), Sierra Langkammerer (Fayetteville, N.Y./Fayetteville-Manlius), Aubrey Macintosh (Burnt Hills, N.Y./Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake), and freshman Dana Molloy (Brewster, N.Y./Brewster) each scored four goals for Potsdam.

The Bears jumped out to a 6-0 lead by the 20:23 mark of the first quarter with Simmons, Richards, Langkammerer each scoring twice. After junior Hillary Hartnett (Fairport, N.Y./Fairport) got the Mustangs on the board at 20:04, Potsdam closed the half with a 5-2 run and led 11-3 at the break. Hartnett finished with a game-high six goals.

Morrisville’s offense was sharper in the second half, but the Bears always had an answer and the Mustangs never got to within eight.

In goal, Bears’ junior Kaci Milligan (Liverpool, N.Y./Bishop Ludden) allowed just three goals and made five saves in the first half to earn the victory. Freshman Jen Chmiel (Rochester, N.Y./Eastridge) played the second half, allowing seven goals and making two saves. Morrisville sophomore goalie Allison Strub (Clifton Springs, N.Y./Midlakes) played the entire game and finished with nine saves.

Potsdam outshot the Mustangs 45-21 and collected 17 groundballs to Morrisville’s 14. Carly Richards now has 115 goals and 48 assist in 39 career games.

Bears Head Coach Lauren Bruce credited the play from her midfielders and the quick start as keys to the win.

"Our objective for the game was to try and get our midfielders into our offense to run plays and motions,” said Bruce. “We knew Morrisville would be aggressive and good on 50-50 balls, so we wanted to set the tone early. The first 10 minutes were crucial, and I think we shot a pretty high percentage early in the game."

Potsdam opens conference play when the Bears host Brockport (2-2) at 3 p.m. on Saturday, April 2.