On the back of a 16-5 loss to Albany last Saturday, the Binghamton men’s lacrosse team lost 14-8 to the visiting UMBC. Although both squads battled to a 6-6 deadlock by halftime, the Retrievers outscored the Bearcats 5-2 in the third quarter, building out a lead they did not relinquish as the Bearcats surrendered another three scores in the fourth period.

The game also marked the program’s second JR Gaudet Youth Day, honoring fallen firefighter John “JR” Gaudet, an alumnus of the Binghamton men’s lacrosse team and a steady figure in the Southern Tier’s youth sports scene (2).

“[Gaudet] was a former teammate of mine,” said Binghamton head coach Kevin McKeown. “It’s great to see a lot of turnout from the local lacrosse family and I’m glad we can be a part of honoring his legacy.”

Binghamton (2-9, 1-3 AE) wasted no time getting on the board, as senior midfielder Will Feldmann found twine in the first possession of the match to put the Bearcats ahead early. Binghamton kept the pressure on, growing its lead to two on its next possession with a strike from senior midfielder Tyler Martini. UMBC (4-6, 3-2 AE) capitalized on a pair of Bearcat turnovers to get its first goal of the night before a Binghamton penalty gave the Retrievers a man-up opportunity they used to tie the match at 2-2.

UMBC remained red-hot in the opening minutes of the second quarter, scoring on three consecutive possessions to take a 5-2 lead. However, the Bearcats quickly responded, as sophomore attack Ryan Meyers found twine on the next possession to end the five-goal run. Soon after, sophomore defender Aidan McMinn forced a UMBC turnover, allowing junior attack Andrew Girolamo to find twine and bring Binghamton within a score. Following another forced turnover from McMinn, senior midfielder Gavin Jacobsen put one past the Retrievers’ goalie, evening the score. The foes traded goals in the closing minutes of the period as the scoreboard read 6-6 at halftime.

“Not very well,” McKeown said regarding the team’s responses to UMBC’s quick-stick attempts near the net. “I think that we didn’t do a great job recognizing maybe when we had to slide versus when we didn’t have to slide and help.”

Binghamton’s woes returned in the second half as UMBC struck on its first two possessions to go ahead 8-6, before capitalizing on another Bearcat turnover to grow its lead to three. Following several scoreless minutes of play, Binghamton rapidly converted a clear and junior midfielder Riley Jenkins got on the board. A score from sophomore attack/midfielder Austin Constable on the next play brought the Bearcats within a goal once more.

The Retrievers, however, quickly responded, scoring twice to close out the quarter with an 11-8 lead while the Bearcats picked up a two-minute penalty in the final second.

“I thought we maybe let up a couple easy ones early in that second half there,” McKeown said. “And then just couldn’t get back in the groove offensively.”

Although Binghamton survived its man-down position to open the fourth quarter, the Retrievers were first to strike once again, adding a pair of goals to take a 14-8 lead with under seven minutes left in the match. The Bearcats continued to fight, but they managed just one shot attempt through the rest of the match while turning the ball over four times.

“I thought we competed well,” McKeown said. “Things just got a little sloppy with the ball. Nineteen turnovers against a good team in conference is a little bit tough to overcome.”

The Bearcats will look to get back in the win column in the American East when they take on Bryant on Saturday, April 18. Face-off is scheduled for noon at Beirne Stadium in Smithfield, Rhode Island.