With 10 minutes remaining and Binghamton down two goals, freshman attack Drew Wichmann’s defender came off to double team sophomore Jake Boyce. Boyce hit the unguarded Wichmann on the run, who finished the sequence to give the Bearcats their fourth straight goal and cut the Syracuse lead to one ‘ until the goal was overturned.

The referee at the Carrier Dome on Saturday ruled that Orange sophomore goaltender Peter Coluccini had picked up the ball before it entered the cage. The Bearcats did not agree.

‘It looked a lot to me like it went in, and from what I’ve seen on film it looked like it did get in, but the ref obviously in the heat of the moment did not see that,’ Boyce said.

As the call was reversed, so too was the Bearcats’ momentum as they fell by a final of 16-10 against Syracuse. Binghamton’s record dropped to 1-4 while Syracuse pulled even at 3-3. The win bumped the Orange to No. 13 in the nation in yesterday’s USILA coaches’ poll.

Boyce and Wichmann were the Bearcats’ top offensive contributors: Boyce scored three goals, giving him six on the year and tying him for the team lead with freshman Steve Carlson, while Wichmann had five assists to give him a team-high 13 points.

The Bearcats were outshot 38-24 in the game, but actually had more attempts than the Orange in the second and third quarters (by one shot in each). Binghamton never held a lead; it tied the game with 7:23 remaining in the second at 4-4, but the Orange would add three more goals before halftime.

Junior midfielder Steven Brooks and sophomore attack Kenny Nims accounted for half of Syracuse’s damage, scoring four goals apiece.

‘They took advantage of their opportunities,’ said senior midfielder Matt McNamara.

Sophomore J.P. Wioncek, Binghamton’s faceoff man, played the worst game of his career, going 0-for-15 against senior Jon Jerome before being replaced by junior Kevin McCarthy. BU ended up 5-for-28 on the day from the faceoff circle.

Still, with significantly fewer possessions, being able to stay close with the Orange and playing in the Dome where some spent their childhood meant Saturday’s loss was not all that bad for the Bearcats.

‘They had 20 more possessions than us and we kept it so close, and that’s really a testament to our defense; they played amazing,’ McNamara said, one of several Binghamton players who calls the Syracuse area home. ‘It was great playing in front of friends and family ‘ I wish we could’ve come out with a win, but I hope we can make this an every-year rivalry.’