On Saturday afternoon, the Binghamton men’s lacrosse team traveled to Poughkeepsie, New York to take on Marist in its first game of the season. After an abrupt end to the 2022 season, during which the Bearcats failed to make it past UMBC in the America East (AE) semifinals, BU bounced back in its season opener, defeating Marist 18-11. This was the first time the Bearcats have defeated the Red Foxes since 2011.

“I thought we did a good job playing with a lot of energy,” said Binghamton head coach Kevin McKeown. “We were able to get some transition goals … I thought that really helped propel us to the win.”

Binghamton (1-0) started off strong, scoring four unanswered goals and holding Marist (0-2) scoreless until the four-minute mark in the first quarter. Four different Bearcats scored in the first eight minutes, with two of the goals being assisted by redshirt junior midfielder Thomas Greenblatt. After this point, the Bearcats and the Red Foxes each added another goal to their totals, ending the first period with a 5-2 advantage to the visitors.

“Any time you can get a four-goal cushion in a quarter is great,” McKeown said. “I was proud of the way our guys battled and stayed the course.”

Marist got the scoring started in the second period, but BU responded just two minutes later with a goal of its own, courtesy of senior midfielder Patrick Murad. Both teams would go back-and-forth for the rest of the quarter, with Binghamton maintaining its lead. Despite Marist closing the deficit by a goal, the Bearcats went into halftime with a 7-5 lead.

“I thought our defense did a good job … taking away areas of the field [Marist] wanted to get to,” McKeown said. “We did a good job of limiting what they wanted to do.”

Just 12 seconds into the second half, sophomore attack Matthew Keegan scored his second goal of the match, extending Binghamton’s lead to three. Marist then closed the gap, scoring two straight goals to cut the Bearcat lead to just one. However, BU’s offensive prowess overwhelmed the Red Foxes’ defense, as the visitors went on a 5-1 scoring run to close out the period. Two goals from Keegan and sophomore attack Gage Adams — along with one from junior midfielder Ethan Insinga — gave Binghamton a 13-8 lead going into the final frame.

“I thought our whole attack unit really played well,” McKeown said. “It was good to see everyone get a lot of opportunities.”

In the final period, Binghamton continued to hold its lead. Despite trading goals for the remainder of the match, the Red Foxes failed to overcome their early deficit as BU closed out the match, winning its season opener 18-11.

“At this time of year we’ve got to focus on getting better every week, continuing to improve,” McKeown said. “As we get to a later point in the season we can be playing our best lacrosse.”

Adams and Keegan led the Bearcats in scoring with five goals a piece in the victory. In addition, Greenblatt found his teammates to dish out four assists, and sophomore goalie Connor Winters was steadfast between the pipes, accumulating 14 saves.

“[Insinga, Adams and Keegan], none of them had started a game for us before today, so it was good to see them all contribute,” McKeown said. “I thought they shared the ball well … The ball didn’t die in anybody’s stick.”

Binghamton will head on the road again to face St. Bonaventure on Saturday, Feb. 18. First face off is scheduled for 1 p.m at the Tom and Michelle Marra Athletics Field Complex in St. Bonaventure, New York.