All season long, the Binghamton University men’s lacrosse team has been plagued by close losses. The Bearcats compiled a 3-11 overall standing, and failure to step up at the end of matches has hurt the Bearcats’ chances of achieving a better record.

On March 4, Binghamton took a 6-2 lead into the half at home against Villanova before a second-half collapse in which the Bearcats failed to score. Villanova rallied to tie the match by the end of regulation, then won the opening faceoff of overtime and ended the game on the first and only shot of the overtime period.

On March 18 and 28, the Bearcats lost games by a 9-7 score, the first against the Bellarmine Knights and the second against conference foe Albany, in which the Bearcats failed to hold onto a 4-3 lead. On April 7, the Bearcats fell to No. 15 Colgate, 11-9, after holding a lead for the majority of the game before the Raiders reeled off four unanswered goals.

But against Hartford, it felt like the Bearcats were playing for much more than just a tally in the win column.

“My lacrosse career is dwindling game by game,” senior goalie Larry Kline said after the Albany loss.

Senior attack Jake Boyce voiced another one of the team’s concerns after the Hartford win.

“We didn’t want to be the first team [in a while] to miss the tournament,” Boyce said.

The result was a crucial come-from-behind victory that sealed the 2009 Bearcats’ fate in the history of the program. The seniors accounted for five of the 11 goals and four of the six assists.

When the Hawks’ players, mostly underclassmen, found themselves with a 7-6 lead in the third quarter, the Bearcats stepped up in crunch time. While it takes an entire team to win a game, there is no doubt that it was the seniors, fighting for their collegiate lacrosse careers, who tipped the scales in the final minutes to get the Bearcats the most meaningful win of the season.