September 21, 2019
SUNY Potsdam Bears vs. St. Lawrence University Saints
Maxcy Hall Stadium
After 14 minutes of the game, the crowd sat on the searing bleacher seats, saying, “Ah, it’s too hot for soccer,” and they were right. Maxcy Hall Stadium field was covered with visible heat that swirled in slow motion. To prepare for the game, spectators strategically sat in seats with the best shade they could find. Ones who hadn’t had much luck finding the shade, like myself, held their hands above their eyes to watch the SUNY Potsdam Bears make a run at the Saints’ goal. Crowd members cheered them on.
Currently, as of September 24, 2019, Union leads the league with a record of 8-0 while St. Lawrence University stands in 7th place, right behind Clarkson University, whom the Saints will play on September 25th.
Until the 22nd minute of the first half, the scoreboard read 0-0. It was anyone’s game. The Bears had a record of 2-5-1, and our Saints, coming off a tough loss against SUNY Cortland last Saturday, held onto a record of 2-3.
When the 22nd minute came around, Raphael Zoccolaro ‘22, brought the ball up the field for the Saints. He passed it to Michael McDougald ‘23 inside the box and McDougald gave the ball a tactical touch into the bottom left corner of the Bears’ net.
This was McDougald’s second goal of the season. He scored his first goal against Oneonta only a week into the season. After playing Potsdam, McDougald told me; “The game was very intense the whole way through. A little sloppy in the first 20, but we worked together as a team and scored in the 22nd minute to secure the lead. The subs who came off the bench had a major impact on the game and were a huge part of why we ended up winning the game. Potsdam played well and gave a good fight. This was the boost we needed to get our confidence back up to play Clarkson on Wednesday.”
And our Saints looked strong out there. They wore their bright red away jersey with a white stripe down the middle. When there was 13 minutes left of the first half, the Saints ran the ball up again for a play, and the Bears’ coach shouted, “Can we tackle someone? Can someone tackle someone.” They couldn’t.
Still, the game was close, and the Bears kept the Saints on their toes. Only one goal separated them, until the last 14 seconds when Andrew Lenfant ‘22 and Aidan Callahan ‘20 played the ball into the Bears’ box, for Miles Levy ‘23 to secure the win for the Saints.
Fortunately, I had the opportunity to talk to Levy about the game. He said: “It was great to get a much needed and well worked win. It was a full team effort. When guys came in off the bench the level of play remained high and didn’t drop off. This game in the heat was a wonderful opportunity for us to build as a team before we go into our league.”