The Binghamton University’s men’s lacrosse team (2-4, 0-1 America East) faced three nationally competitive teams over the break and was unable to score enough goals to stay close with any of them.

The Bearcats faced No. 1 Syracuse first in front of more than 5,000 fans at the Carrier Dome on March 22. The Orange took a 6-0 lead before Binghamton could even get on the board with its first goal, scored by sophomore Andy Cook just before halftime. In a running theme for the 0-3 week, the Bearcats took only 20 shots to SU’s 45.

“I think it’s more of a mental thing when you’re going to Syracuse,” said Binghamton goalie Larry Kline. “It shouldn’t be intimidating to go in there. We recruited a lot of kids from championship teams who have been in big games.”

Syracuse then scored eight consecutive goals, three of which came from Mike Leveille, the nation’s sixth-ranked scorer. Leveille finished with four goals and two assists, and Syracuse topped the Bearcats 16-2.

Binghamton then traveled to Ithaca to play No. 7 Cornell on March 25. Though the Bearcat offense fared a little better, scoring five goals, Binghamton’s defense let in five early goals that put them in a big hole en-route to a 12-5 loss.

“The ball was in the defensive end most of the (first) period,” Jake Boyce said. “The offense didn’t really get to get our sticks warm. The second period the D made the stops they needed to. We had the chance to recover but it made it a steeper climb to get out of.”

It took Binghamton 18 minutes until Boyce broke through the Big Red defense to score. The Bearcats went on a 4-2 run, but it was too little, too late as Binghamton managed only seven shots in the second half. Cornell outshot Binghamton 39-19 for the game.

“Defensively it’s real tough when kids are getting that many shots at you,” Kline said. “When you come out flat against a team like Syracuse or Cornell, it’s going to bite you.”

The Bearcats had a chance to stop the skid against SUNY rival Albany last Saturday in their conference opener. Last year, Albany was ranked No. 6 when Binghamton defeated the Danes 9-8 on senior day. It remains the highest ranked upset that Binghamton has accomplished in any Division I sport. Albany is currently receiving votes in the national top-20 poll.

In 2007, Kline had a breakout performance to keep the Bearcats in the game. This time around, in 2 feet of snow, he allowed the same number of goals, but his offense sputtered in an 8-2 loss.

“When you hold a team like that to single digits you should have a chance to win the game,” Kline said. “It’s going to have to change; you can’t win a game scoring two goals. The offense needs confidence.”

On offense, the Bearcats had trouble finishing looks and even keeping the ball in their sticks.

“We’re just not running well with the ball; we’re not keeping it moving,” Boyce said. “We’re not finishing the opportunities we’re getting. On Monday in practice, coach [Ed Stephenson] had us running with the ball in our sticks all day.”

The running tally of goals for the week: opponents 36, Binghamton 9. The Bearcats have the worst goals-scored average among 56 Division I teams so far, scoring just over four per game.

Stephenson has been mixing with the lineups in practice to try and find more offensive mojo. In practice, he’s been trying to find combinations of players who will work well together, as well as moving midfielders to attack and vice-versa.

“It puts pressure not just on me but the defense in general,” Kline said. “We can’t win playing on defense for 85 percent of the game. As a goalie, yeah, it gets in the back of your mind, trying to hold teams to single digits, but that’s what you should be doing anyway.”