The Binghamton men’s lacrosse team earned its first win of the season on Sunday, defeating a talented Delaware squad, 11-7, in its first game away from the Binghamton area.
Binghamton (1-3) went into halftime leading by only one, but was able to take control of the game in the third quarter. BU senior attack Paul O’Donnell scored 54 seconds into the third to extend the BU lead to 6-4. After UD (3-4) cut the lead back to one, Binghamton closed the quarter with three straight goals to open up a 9-5 advantage.
Delaware turned up the pressure and added two quick goals to start the final 15. And while the Bearcats are no strangers to fourth quarter troubles this season, they were able to overcome the pressure on Sunday and score two straight goals to secure the victory.
“Today the guys learned how to get a win,” BU head coach Scott Nelson said. “It got a little hairy there in the fourth when they got two quick goals, but [Sunday] we took care of business and played great [defense].”
In fact, Sunday was in many ways Binghamton’s best defensive performance of the season. After giving up an average of 11.75 goals per game so far this season, the Bearcats only allowed seven, including a strong second half where they outscored Delaware, 6-3.
“Defensively, we just played very steady,” coach Nelson said. “Any time you can let up two or less goals in a quarter, you’re really doing great.”
As well as the defense played Sunday, the BU offense matched that performance. Crucial to the attacking front on Sunday were senior attack Tucker Nelson and O’Donnell. O’Donnell poured in five goals against the Blue Hens to match his career high — spearheading BU’s high-powered offense with eight goals this season.
“Paul O’Donnell had a couple nice goals today,” coach Nelson said. “The offense has been playing pretty well all year and they continued that today.”
As for Tucker Nelson, he tied a school single-game record with six assists and set a career high with seven total points in the victory. In his first game this season, he set the school record for career assists, and this season he leads the team with 11.
“Its always nice to have a guy who can get other guys the ball,” coach Nelson said. “Like a point guard in basketball or a quarterback in football, if guys get open he’ll get them the ball.”
The Bearcats made some tweaks to their lineup against Delaware. Freshman defender Salvatore Fama earned his first career start as a Bearcat, causing two turnovers and scooping a ground ball in the process. Sophomore goaltender Tanner Cosens also found his way into the starting lineup for the first time this season, recording 14 saves in the victory.
“It’s good to see some guys who work hard in practice have their chance to do well,” coach Nelson said of the new faces in the lineup.
Now with a tough road win under their belts, the Bearcats are set to travel to Maryland to face UMBC in their first conference contest of the season. Face-off is scheduled for noon Saturday at UMBC Stadium in Catonsville, Maryland.