As the sun set behind the Events Center and the Bearcats Sports Complex on an uncharacteristically magnificent day in Vestal, the Binghamton University men’s lacrosse team honored its seniors. The game that night, though, was dominated by anyone but, as the Bearcats used their younger players to take a late lead in the fourth quarter and finish their regular season with a thrilling 8-7 win over the University at Albany Great Danes.
Though John Warner, David Raleigh, Mike Sciarrino, Adam Mazzoni, Derrick Danieu, Adam Pardi and Frank Donlon have undoubtedly each contributed their fair share over their years as Bearcats, it was the team’s non-seniors who took charge from the opening faceoff on Saturday.
Opening period goals from sophomore Tyler Perrelle and freshman Michael Antinozzi, scored within a one-minute span, put Binghamton (7-7, 3-2 America East) ahead 2-0.
The first period saw a relatively even battle in the shot department as the Bearcats held a slight 10-9 edge over Albany (5-10, 0-5 AE). But in the next frame BU erupted for a 17-5 advantage in shots and tacked on two more goals.
Team scoring leader and sophomore Matt Springer added to the Binghamton lead in the second as he tallied his 27th goal of the season. That would be his lone goal for the game, though, as he came up two short of multiple milestones: the program’s single-season record he set last year (29) and third place on the program’s all-time scoring list (58).
Perrelle followed Springer’s goal with his second of the game and 11th of the season. Though Binghamton seemed prepared to take a 4-0 lead to the half, Albany junior Joe Resetarits netted his 30th of the year to put the Great Danes on the board before time expired and the Bearcats took a 4-1 lead to the intermission.
For a team that interim head coach Kevin McKeown had previously described as very talented offensively, the Great Danes were leashed in the first half, mustering only one goal — something McKeown attributes to the success of his own team.
“We were keeping our possessions and when we did miss the cage in our shooting, we were getting it back,” he said. “We had some good, long possessions and we were putting some pressure on [Albany].”
Just as Binghamton took a significant edge in shots in the second period, Albany stormed back and took advantage of seven BU third-period turnovers en route to a 15-5 lead in shots for the frame and a 6-5 lead on the scoreboard.
“We knew they were going to come out firing,” McKeown said. “We knew we were going to have to weather the storm a little bit and we didn’t … But we did a good job like we have in the last month or so of being resilient when a team goes on a run.”
The shot advantage in the final period yet again drastically favored BU, as it led in that category 17-6. Antinozzi netted his second of the game with 8:24 to go to tie the score at six and freshman Brandon Planck’s goal gave Binghamton the lead just under one minute later.
However, the Great Danes’ comeback was not to be snuffed just yet; Resetarits scored the equalizer and his 31st of the year with six minutes remaining.
In the following minutes, multiple potential game-changing opportunities for each team were turned aside, and when the Bearcats crossed into their offensive zone with under two minutes remaining, McKeown called time out.
“[Binghamton assistant coach Rob] Williams was with the offense and had a play set up for them, but [Albany] put some pressure on and we didn’t run that play; we just went back to some of our regular offensive stuff,” McKeown said. “I just told our defense, ‘Hey, be ready, bear down.'”
As had been a constant throughout the game, it was a non-senior stealing the show on senior night as the freshman Planck slipped one past the goalie with 20 seconds on the clock for what would prove to be the game-winning goal.
“The goalie kind of popped it up straight up in the air right to me and I just took a couple steps up and finished,” said Planck, who was named AE Rookie of the Week for his efforts. “Just in the right place at the right time.”
With the win, Binghamton improves to 7-7 and 3-2 in conference play, tying the team for second-best record in program history, matching the 2006 squad’s total. That year’s team lost in the first round of the America East Tournament to No. 1 seed University of Maryland, Baltimore County, a fate the 2011 Bearcats will try to avoid repeating when they face off against top-seeded Stony Brook University tomorrow, ranked No. 14 nationally.
Though this year’s seniors did not shine on their night, McKeown praised them for leading the Bearcats to where they stand now in a year filled with ups and downs.
“I don’t know if there was any year where we needed leadership more than this one, and they’ve done a great job carrying us all year,” he said.
Although that leadership will soon be graduating, many are optimistic about the future of Bearcats lacrosse with the talent returning next year, especially the freshman who scored Saturday’s game winner.
“We’ve got a lot of potential for the future,” Planck said. “We’re a young team and had a lot of senior leadership this year. We’ve still got another game to go, but that was a nice way to send these seniors off.”