SUNY Potsdam men's lacrosse set for conference semifinal

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Junior captain Rashaun Durden (Buffalo, N.Y.) and the SUNY Potsdam men's lacrosse team seek their second win over Geneseo this season this Wednesday.

POTSDAM, N.Y. (05/03/2011)(readMedia)-- The SUNY Potsdam men's lacrosse team hosts Geneseo this Wednesday, May 4, in a State University of New York Athletic Conference Tournament semifinal at Maxcy Hall's Turf Field.

The second-seeded Bears, who finished the regular season with a 4-2 record in conference play and 7-8 overall, will play their first SUNYAC Tournament home game in the program's history. Potsdam joined the league in 2002.

"To actually be hosting a game is outstanding," senior captain Kevin Green said. "I never thought we would in my four years here, because of the quality of Geneseo and Cortland. We have worked to be in this position and have been successful ... hosting a game is an honor."

The Bears clinched a tournament spot for the second straight year last Wednesday with an 11-7 home victory over Oswego. Geneseo (7-6 overall, 4-2 SUNYAC), which is the No. 3 seed, wrapped up its bid on Saturday with a 19-7 triumph at Oneonta.

On April 16, the Bears posted their first win over the Blue Knights since 2001 after sophomore Robbie Ashlaw (North Syracuse, N.Y.) scored with 44 seconds remaining to give the team a 9-8 lead, one it wouldn't relinquish.

The win, which ultimately gave Potsdam the tie-breaker to host a semifinal, was special for all players and coaches, but especially for Green (Penfield, N.Y.) and fellow fourth-year senior Pat Corbine (Canton, N.Y.), a two-time SUNYAC Goalie of the Week honoree.

"Honestly, it was one of the better experiences of my life," said Green, an attackman who has 17 goals this season. "There's not much of a senior class left. For Pat Corbine and me, we've been here for four years ... I just sat there and reflected for a moment and thought, 'this is surreal.' It was outstanding, because I love this sport and I love the guys playing here."

The Blue Knights are no stranger to the spotlight. A perennial conference powerhouse and national contender, Geneseo is annually the top conference competition against Cortland, a program which has five Final Four appearances, including two national titles, in the last five years.

Offensively, Craig Lange, an honorable mention All-American in 2010, leads the Blue Knights. Lange tops all Geneseo scorers with 43 points, while four others have at least 15 points. Potsdam junior defenseman Rashaun Durden (Buffalo, N.Y.), an all-conference selection last season, believes containing Lange will be one of the keys to the contest.

"(Lange) likes to do a lot of work for the team, likes to score their goals and get their assists, but they're pretty good offensively overall," Durden said. "Their midfield is fast and they're pretty smart with the way they play. They're not going to make it easy for us, but if we go out there and play with our stuff, we'll be all right."

The Blue Knights also present a challenge on the defensive end. Geneseo finished second in the conference in goals against average (9.60) and has a number of talented players, including Joe May, an All-American defenseman.

"Geneseo is one of the most disciplined defenses in the SUNYAC," Green said. "They play really tight and really strong. So our basic goal and game plan is to move the ball a lot quicker, run our offense and run our plays that we've designed and added onto this game to change it up and give them different looks."

With a win, the Bears would likely head to Cortland, the No. 5 team in the nation and a heavy favorite to defeat Brockport in the other semifinal. Last year, Potsdam's season ended in the SUNYAC Tournament semifinals with a 17-2 loss against the Red Dragons on May 5, 2010.

If the Bears defeat Geneseo and Brockport upsets top-seeded Cortland, Potsdam would host the championship game this Saturday.

Durden, one of the team's three captains, and the rest of the Bears are confident heading into Wednesday's game, but are not looking ahead to a potential showdown against Cortland.

"We feel like it wasn't any fluke when we beat Geneseo last time," Durden said. "We can beat them again ... we feel like we should beat them again. Anything other than a win would be disappointing. We're very confident, we think we should win and we think we deserve to be here."

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