POTSDAM, N.Y. – The College at Brockport men's lacrosse team opened State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) play on the road on Saturday, downing SUNY Potsdam 16-7.
 
The Golden Eagles improve to 4-3 on the year, and open the league with a 1-0 mark while the Bears fall to 1-4 overall and 0-1 in the SUNYAC.
 
Brockport saw their counterpart's post a pair of goals to open play, but worked to provide an answer, as Jake Recor notched the first Green and Gold goal, burying a Brendan Fitzgerald set up. Jake Giudice fired the next two Brockport scores, giving the Golden Eagles a 3-2 advantage. Potsdam would work in the final goal of the first quarter, as the contest was knotted 3-3 at the first break.
 
In the second frame, the Bears opened scoring again, but the Brockport offense sparked, scoring four straight to close the half. Pete Barilla got things started, with back-to-back goals at the 9:47 and 9:08 mark to regain the lead. Giudice took advantage of the man-up opportunity, working in a shot for the 6-4 edge. Fitzgerald found the back of the cage for the final goal of the half, as Brockport took the 7-4 lead into the break.
 
In the third frame, the two teams traded two goals each, with Fitzgerald and Recor posting the lone Brockport scores of the period.
 
The Green and Gold offense exploded in the final quarter, and following a Bear goal, scored seven unanswered goals. Fitzgerald and Recor again got things started, with Machael Caternolo and Zach Cook netting goals within 20 seconds to post the 13-7 lead with 8:40 to play.
 
Giudice, Mark Robinson and Recor each added insurance goals to close the frame, as the Green and Gold would hold on for the strong 16-7 win.
 
Brockport outplayed Potsdam in several categories, with a 61-23 edge in shots, a 39-17 advantage in shots on goal, a 52-27 lead in ground balls and a 17-7 threshold in face offs. The Green and Gold also forced 23 Bear turnovers, and went 20-for-26 in clears.
 
On the defensive end five Golden Eagles accounted for two caused turnovers each, with Michael Drankwater, Giudice, Pat Quinlivan, Steven Gurin and Robinson each picking up a pair. Caternolo led the way with 10 ground balls, while Recor added seven and Giudice had five. Caternolo also went 13-for-17 in the face off circle, with Cook adding four face off wins. With his goals, Giudice became the Brockport goals leader, surpassing Adam Drypolcher, who had 96.
 
Dallas Meyers picked up all 60 minutes of action in goal for Brockport, making 10 saves in route to his first win of the season.
 
The Golden Eagles will return to action at home, as they host Elmira College in non-conference action on April 5, with opening faceoff set for 4 p.m.
 
Be sure to stay up to date on all of your Golden Eagle scores and awards by following @BportAthletics on Twitter and by liking the "Brockport Golden Eagles" Facebook page.