Box Score
ANNANDALE-ON-HUDSON, N.Y. - In the end, it's reasonable to think that both teams came away surprised at the final score.

As Saturday's match reached the 80th minute, the Bard College men's soccer team was still pushing forward, searching desperately for an equalizer. SUNY Potsdam had the better of the play for much of the afternoon, but it was still just 2-1 in favor of the visitors, and the chance that this one might get away from the Bears seemed not out of the realm of possibility. Bard was still dangerous.

But SUNY Potsdam scored three goals in the final nine minutes and 40 seconds to create a 5-1 final score that wasn't truly indicative of the way the game was played.

See photo gallery

The game was played with tenacity and physicality on both sides, some chippiness on both sides, and with lots of cards, especially on the Bard side. The Raptors drew five yellows and a red; the Bears drew two yellows. It was a bruising affair that had both benches barking at the officials and some players barking at each other.

The Bears (5-1-1) dominated early and took a 1-0 lead in the 29th minute. Senior Eduardo Figueroa (Rochester, NY) blasted a shot from 22 yards in the center of the field and it short-hopped Bard goalie Taylor Bond, who blocked the shot, but had no chance of grabbing the rebound. It went up in the air and to his left. As he dove to recover, sophomore Matt Parsons (Glens Falls, NY) got a foot on the ball and flicked it into the upper right corner. The ball struck the intersection of the crossbar and post, then angled down and over the goal line by a few inches.

Bard (3-2-0) responded with a couple of excellent chances in a row, the first in the 31st minute when Antonio Scanni just missed running onto a chipped pass at the far post. Then, in the 34th minute, Gabriel Kilongo hit a bending shot from beyond the top of the box that diving Potsdam keeper Nick Davies (Webster, NY) got a hand on, only to see it roll behind him. Davies swung his hand back at the rolling ball, and it rolled along the goal line before being cleared.

At the break, the Bears had a 9-4 edge in shots and a 1-0 lead.

The early part of the second half was played similarly, but the Bears took a 2-0 lead when Patrick Mylod (Clifton Park, NY) struck a long shot off a turnover from 22 yards and beat Bond to the left post. That happened in the 66th minute.

Still, Bard pushed on relentlessly and it paid off in the 72nd minute when John Flynn was fouled in the box. Austin Higgins converted the ensuing penalty kick, and it was once again a one-goal game.

As the clock rolled on, Bard's desperation grew and as the Raptors pushed forward, SUNY Potsdam took advantage. Ben Firlit (South Glens Falls, NY) made it 3-1 in the 81st minute, Mario Riccardi (Beacon, NY) made it 4-1 in the 83rd minute, and Travis Jordan punched in a rebound in the 87th minute to produce the deceiving 5-1 result.

Bond made nine saves, including a couple of gems. The Raptors next play at New Paltz on Wednesday afternoon. You can follow that game via Live Stats or Live Video right here.