The Geneseo men's lacrosse team defeated SUNY Potsdam last Saturday 18-6, getting off to a quick start and keeping the pressure on the Bears for the entire game.
Geneseo led 15-2 after the third quarter, outshooting the Bears 42-10 during the same stretch. The Knights' potent offense was in full gear as they outscored Potsdam 11-0 in the second and third quarters.
"We hadn't played our best up until Saturday," said head coach Jim Lyons. "We had a lot of things we had to work on."
"We weren't scared of making mistakes," said junior Craig Lange. "We practiced faster and we were playing faster."
Lange and sophomore Brendan Kurpis led a well-balanced scoring attack for the Knights. Lange had five points on two goals and three assists and Kurpis added his second consecutive four-goal game. The Knights' attack consisted of nine different players scoring goals, six of which with at least two.
"Our offense really just stepped it up," said junior Bobby King. "It seemed like we had better chemistry out there." King contributed two goals and two assists in the game.
"It's great to see other guys step up," Lange added. "If you can add depth like that it adds confidence to a team."
One of the most exciting goals of the game came with just over a minute left when freshman Frank DiSanti made a spin move to get around a defender and then shot it past the Potsdam goalie for his first career goal.
"He always gives it his all in practice," Lange said of DiSanti. "He made a great dodge and put it away."
"Frank is a hard-nosed, tough player," Lyons added. "He scored for all those guys who work hard and don't get a lot of chances."
Having such a big lead gave Lyons a chance to rest a lot of his starters and give a lot of the backups extended playing time, which he said he feels will help keep them involved and help the team practice harder.
The Knights play their final home game of the regular season on Saturday at 1 p.m. against SUNY Plattsburgh.
[Editor's note. On Wednesday the Knights faced off against SUNY Cortland, the No. 4 team in the country. Geneseo lost a defensive battle, 4-3. The Knights led 3-1 going into the fourth quarter. Cortland scored the game-winning goal with just 43 seconds left in the game off of a Geneseo turnover. Kurpis had two goals, Lange had one goal and one assist and senior goalie Dennis Costanza made 16 saves.]