On the heels of a three-game losing skid, the Binghamton University men’s lacrosse team held on in the second overtime for a 9-8 victory over the Siena Saints, regaining vital momentum for its upcoming conference slate of matches.
The Bearcats (3-7, 0-1 AE) took down Siena (5-4) at the Bearcats Sports Complex on Wednesday despite starting three freshmen in the six offensive slots. But the youthful lineup, including leading scorer freshman Matt Springer, kept its composure and gave Binghamton its first win since March 13.
“We were poised on both ends of the field,” Binghamton head coach Ed Stephenson said. “Our freshmen are growing up; they waited for good shots, and we took advantage of our opportunities.”
But it wasn’t easy for the Bearcats. Binghamton took a 7-4 lead in the third period, but Siena chipped away at the lead and tied the score at eight with just 41 seconds left in the match. Both teams had opportunities to win in overtime play, but neither cashed in until freshman Tyler Perrelle took a feed from freshman attack Jack Doherty and notched the game-winner at the 2:22 mark of the second overtime.
“We’ve been in so many close games this year,” Stephenson said. “I thought the difference today was we were very poised … We got big ground balls on the defensive end, we were poised playing [defense] in a stressful environment, being in overtime, in the fourth quarter. We really had a great opportunity today to take the next step.”
The Bearcats spread out the scoring in the match, as eight different players scored goals. Doherty led the way with two goals and two assists, while Springer, Perrelle, junior Frank Donlon, senior Jeff Rurey, freshman Shane Warner, junior Mike Sciarrino and junior David Raleigh all scored a goal. Senior Drew Wichmann dished out three assists.
Sophomore goalie Jordan Marra was key for the Bearcats, stopping nine shots against the Saints, who have been a strong team thus far this season. They lost to No. 4 perennial powerhouse Johns Hopkins by just one goal earlier this year.
The Bearcats outshot Siena 36-31, won the groundball battle 29-19 and cleared efficiently (19-of-22) in the game.
Over spring break, the Bearcats played another overtime thriller, but this time came up short. Binghamton played Lehigh (5-5) at home and fell 16-15 in the first extra period. The loss overshadowed a stunning performance from Rurey, who broke the school record for goals in a game, as eight of his shots found the back of the net. The previous record of six goals was set by Stephen Smith on April 1, 2006 and was tied by Springer on Feb. 27.
Led by Rurey’s eight goals, the Bearcats had a 14-7 lead with 6:26 left in the third quarter, but squandered the late lead again, allowing Lehigh to score the next eight goals of the contest. In comparing the Lehigh loss with the Siena win, Stephenson pointed to one crucial factor: clears.
“We cleared the ball today, and that is the difference,” Stephenson said of the Siena game, while the Bearcats only cleared 13 of 18 opportunities against Lehigh. “That is the most important thing for our defense. They [Lehigh] had fresh legs in the fourth so that they could be poised. I give them all the credit in the world; we need to clear the ball well, and they’re doing it. In games past, we haven’t done that; this is a new season, that’s a great start for us. We cleared the ball extremely well today, and that is something that we very much needed to do, and they got it done.”
Rurey’s eight-goal explosion comes after not scoring a single goal in the 2009 season; this year he already has 19 goals and six assists. Stephenson credits the transformation to Rurey’s offseason work ethic.
“That’s really what Division I is all about; you’ve gotta work over the summer,” Stephenson said. “You’ve gotta condition, you’ve gotta lift. He has really developed into a really good Division I attackman. He is much stronger than he was last year physically, mentally he’s on the top of his game and he’s a great leader for us. His skills and his strength have improved significantly, and I really attribute that to his hard work over the offseason.”
Also scoring for the Bearcats against Lehigh were Donlon, who netted three goals, and seniors Andy Cook and Steve Carlson, with two apiece. Against Lehigh, Binghamton played junior Dan Solazzo, who made 15 saves in the losing effort.
The Bearcats couldn’t regroup for their first conference match against Vermont (2-7, 1-0 AE), falling in the road match 11-8. This time, Binghamton was doomed by a slow start as the Catamounts outscored the Bearcats 5-1 in the opening period. But Stephenson took the Bearcats’ bounce-back win over Siena as a sign that this team will be able to compete in conference play despite the opening loss.
“We were definitely flat,” he said of the Vermont match. “It was an important game to start out [well]. These guys have a good understanding of what it’s all about, to be able to bounce back after that tough loss, and we’ve had a lot of tough, close losses this year. What they did today sends a strong message to me about our character, and I think that’s really important. This team that we played today is a very, very good team … I give them credit, they battled us. I thought their goalie played well, our goalie played well, our defense played well. It was a good team effort, and I’m excited for the guys.”
Binghamton was led offensively against the Catamounts by Rurey and Springer, who netted two goals apiece. The Bearcats struggled in the faceoff circle at Vermont, winning only eight of 23 draws, and turned the ball over twice as many times (18) as the Catamounts did.
The Bearcats split time in net for that match, with Solazzo playing the first half and Marra playing the second half, marking the third different distribution of goalie time in as many games. The third goalie, freshman Kraig Heston, has been battling illness, according to Stephenson.
“We’re blessed to have three great goalies,” Stephenson said. “Danny led the conference in saves in his starts, and then Jordan had a good half last week and he played well today; I’m just tickled to death to have … great goalies.”
The Bearcats have completed non-conference play and are now set to finish the season with their conference slate. First up is the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, the co-favorite to capture the America East crown this season and the squad that ended Binghamton’s season in the first round of postseason play last season in a 9-8 double overtime heartbreaker. But the Bearcats were handled by the Retrievers in the regular season last season by a score of 13-4; UMBC was ranked fourth in the nation at the time.
“They’ve been ranked in the top 10 the last three years,” Stephenson said. “Almost every one of their losses [this year] has been to a top-10 team … I expect, as usual for them, a very competitive team.”
Binghamton is set to take on the Retrievers at 7 p.m. Saturday at the Bearcats Sports Complex in the second-to-last home match of the year.