The Binghamton men’s lacrosse team traveled to St. Bonaventure on Saturday for its second game of the season. After scoring seven goals in the first quarter, including a sophomore attack Matthew Keegan hat trick, the Bearcats could not hold their lead as the Bonnies forced overtime. In extra time, however, Keegan scored once more to give the visitors a 12-11 win.

“We definitely came out with a lot of energy,” said Binghamton head coach Kevin McKeown. “Seven goals in the first quarter. I thought our sideline was bringing great energy [and] I thought our face off guys were doing a great job getting us the ball.”

BU (2-0) peppered St. Bonaventure’s (0-2) goal early, attempting two shots before Keegan found the twine just over one minute into play. This sparked a flurry of goals as the Bonnies responded less than a minute later with a goal of their own. However, consecutive goals from the Bearcats gave them a 3-1 lead with just under 12 minutes in the first period.

Binghamton would go on to continue to pressure the host’s defense as it scored four more times before the frame ended. Keegan added two more to his tally, earning his hat trick in the first as BU held the Bonnies to just two goals and went into the second period with a 7-2 cushion.

“We kind of had a similar start last week where we got the first four [goals],” McKeown said. “Sometimes it can be hard to maintain, but I think the idea is that you want to try and limit the other team to one or two goal runs and be able to put three or four goal marks together. I think we just have to continue to work on getting better each week.”

The Bearcats’ offensive prowess slowed in the second, as they were unable to score in the period and gave up two goals in the process. Despite this, sophomore goalie Connor Winters accumulated eight saves in the first half to send the visitors in the break up 7-4. Winters finished the game with 17 saves in total.

“I think [Winters] was a huge difference for us,” McKeown said. “I was just proud of the way [Winters] held in there. He stood tall, he’s a big goalie and came up with some big saves.”

The second half started with both teams getting shots on their respective goals. Junior midfielder Ethan Insinga opened up the scoring with a goal, but the Bonnies responded less than a minute later to keep them down by just three goals. Three and a half minutes later, redshirt junior midfielder Thomas Greenblatt found the back of the net for BU. However, this goal sparked a 3-0 scoring run from St. Bonaventure, bringing its deficit down to just one goal going into the final frame.

“[St. Bonaventure] started getting some momentum,” McKeown said. “We felt like we didn’t get some calls at the face-offs, and they started winning some there and they kind of clawed their way back into it, but [I’m] just proud of the way the guys kept fighting.”

One minute into the fourth, the hosts tied the game at nine goals apiece, capping off a 4-0 scoring run. Binghamton responded with a goal from senior midfielder Quinn O’Hara and less than a minute later, Greenblatt found the goal again for his third score of the game, completing his hat trick.

For the remainder of regulation, the Bearcats attempted to hold off the Bonnies, but the hosts continued peppering BU’s goal and eventually broke through, scoring twice within one minute. With the game tied with two minutes to play, neither team was able to break the draw as regulation ended tied at 11.

“It all starts with getting the ball, whether it’s off the face off or getting the stop defensively,” McKeown said. “I thought we let them get a couple of goals off of rebounds when [Winters] had made the save … Our message to the guys is try to win the middle of the field to win possession through face offs and then rise and clear.”

In the overtime period, the Bonnies committed a penalty with three minutes remaining, giving the visitors a man-up opportunity. The Bearcats took advantage of this advantage as Keegan scored his fourth goal of the game off of a Greenblatt assist.

“[Keegan’s] been great,” McKeown said. “He’s got nine goals on the year now … He’s put a lot of work in. He’s always one of the last guys to leave the field every day, and it’s definitely showing in his performance.”

Binghamton begins a two-game home stand against Lafayette on Saturday, Feb. 25. First face-off is scheduled for 12 p.m. at the Bearcats Sports Complex in Vestal, New York.