In a dramatic second-half battle, after chances of revival seemed slim, the Bearcats led a commanding charge against Lafayette College, pulling Binghamton within one goal of tying the match after falling into an eight-goal deficit. Despite the late resurgence, Binghamton’s efforts fell short of clinching its second consecutive victory.
Lafayette edged out the Binghamton University men’s lacrosse team by a final score of 12-9 on Saturday at the Bearcats Sports Complex. The game was what Bearcats head coach Ed Stephenson described as “a tale of two halves.”
Lafayette quickly took advantage of the struggling Bearcats’ defense, opening the game with five consecutive goals before Binghamton could net one. Stymied by turnovers and missed goal opportunities, the Bearcats didn’t score again until nearly two minutes before halftime. Lafayette’s biggest lead was a 9-1 advantage, and the Leopards outshot Binghamton 31-15 in the first half.
“They got whatever they wanted in the first half defensively,” Stephenson said. “We struggled to clear the ball, turned over the ball on both ends and got killed on ground balls.”
At halftime it seemed as if Lafayette’s victory had been sealed, until the Bearcats stunned the crowd by starting the third period with four consecutive goals within five minutes. Their rally nearly overcame the deficit, pulling the score to 10-9 with nine minutes left in the game.
Stephenson attributed the shift in momentum to the improved defense. “We played good defense, which we didn’t do in the first half,” he said. “With defensive stops it’s a different ball game.”
Along with the boost in defense, Binghamton stepped up offensively, outshooting Lafayette 12-4 in the quarter. Junior midfielder Frank Donlon led the team offensively with his second career hat trick, and senior attack Jeff Rurey added to the offensive explosion by scoring two goals and two assists.
Despite the Bearcats’ efforts, Lafayette netted two more goals in the fourth quarter, including an empty-netter, and narrowly escaped with a win. Binghamton was outshot 49-36, with 21 turnovers in the match.
Stephenson had high expectations for his players, and given the glimpse of the Bearcats’ capabilities in the third quarter, he believed his team had the skill to win.
“We had enough opportunities to really put up a lot more than nine goals,” he said. “We should have been scoring around 16; it wasn’t good enough.”
As far as the Bearcats’ overall performance, Stephenson attributes the loss to the team’s failure to capitalize on scoring opportunities.
“I give [Lafayette] credit; they’re quick and they’re athletic, but I just don’t think that the first half was indicative of how we play,” he said. “I don’t think our mental approach was good coming into this game, and certainly we can learn from this.”
With this loss, the Bearcats are 1-1 heading on to the road for their next game against No. 18 Villanova (0-1), who made their first appearance in the NCAA tournament last season as the Big East contender.
“We can’t protect our home turf this time,” Stephenson said. “They’re certainly as skilled as this team, so we’ll have to take a different approach to winning this game.”
The Bearcats are set to play the Wildcats at Villanova Stadium on Tuesday at 4 p.m.