At the start of the fourth period against Sacred Heart, the Binghamton University men’s lacrosse team had a win in hand. But the next thing the Bearcats knew, they were fighting to hang on to a paper-thin lead.

After withstanding a 5-0 Pioneer run, Binghamton (2-1) downed Sacred Heart 9-8 on Saturday at the Bearcats Sports Complex.

Binghamton led 9-3 at the beginning of the fourth period. Pioneer attackman Timmy Katz, the nation’s leading scorer, tallied a goal and two assists during the five-goal run.

With 36 seconds remaining in the game, Sacred Heart (3-1) came within one goal of the Bearcats when Bobby Rushton beat Binghamton goalie Larry Kline. Binghamton needed to win the ensuing faceoff to prevent the Pioneers from having a chance to tie the game, and junior J.P. Wioncek, who was 7-for-19 prior to the decisive draw, won the faceoff to ice the game.

Wioncek and Pioneer faceoff man Zach Smith were caught in a ground battle that lasted over 10 seconds, and the lengthy faceoff decreased Sacred Heart’s window of opportunity to score another goal.

“I thought that (Smith) might have had the ball clamped down,” said Binghamton head coach Ed Stephenson. “I don’t know why he would hold onto it that long. J.P. did a nice job of getting in position, even if the other guy had a clamp, to make sure that he couldn’t pull it to himself.”

Another crucial play down the stretch for Binghamton came from an unlikely source: a freshman. With just minutes remaining in the game, first-year midfielder David Raleigh knocked a Sacred Heart midfielder’s stick out of his hands for a takeaway steal. When the ball stayed in the pocket, Raleigh used his own stick to dislodge the ball and then retrieve it, diffusing an SHU fast break.

“What David did there, that was a huge play, and I was happy to see that,” Stephenson said. “He showed a lot of maturity for a young guy and he also showed his heart. He showed that we can count on him in times that we need him to show up. That’s a great play, especially for a freshman.”

Binghamton began the game on a 5-0 run of its own. Long-pole midfielder John Dreska, primarily a defensive player, scored the game’s first goal off a feed from freshman Brian Donahue with 8:25 remaining in the first. Donahue beat three defenders and Frank for the ground ball, and found Dreska streaking to the goal.

Junior Chris Mulheron was a scoring machine for the Bearcats, tallying four goals and two assists to tie a career high in goals and points. He scored Binghamton’s final two goals in a span of 22 seconds at the end of the third period. Binghamton’s offense had generated only six goals in the two previous games, making its nine goals against SHU a notable improvement.

“Right now we made a good step forward offensively, but on the attack end, we’re a little streaky,” Stephenson said.

Pioneer goalie Zack Frank left the game after 18 minutes due to an injury, and his replacement, Ricardo Vargas, let only four goals in.

Though Kline allowed eight goals, he still ranks No. 1 in NCAA goals-against-average, allowing just 4.00 per game. He also tops Division I goalies in save percentage, stopping .745 of all shots on goal. Binghamton’s dominant defense ranks first in man-down defense, by virtue of not allowing a single goal in penalty situations this season.

Because Binghamton lost its composure down the stretch, Stephenson plans to run more end-of-game situations in practice. Still, he liked his team’s attitude after the game.

“I’m thankful that they were disappointed at the end of the game,” he said. “Although it was a win, I think we were disappointed that we didn’t ice it a little earlier.”