The Binghamton men’s lacrosse team fell to Bucknell on Tuesday night, as the Bison overpowered them for the majority of the game, ending in a 16-4 final score. The Bearcats (1-3) were led by sophomore attack Kevin Winkoff, who had one goal and three shots on goal, and came into the game following a tense triple overtime win over Lafayette.
Junior defender Tom Galgano put the Bearcats on the board to start the game with a full-field send that energized the Bearcats in the first quarter. It was Galgano’s first career goal and continued his contributions on the defensive end, as he forced five turnovers by the Bison and collected seven ground balls. Senior defender Dan Mottes added another three caused turnovers.
The Bearcats struggled to maintain possession at times, as they recorded 27 total turnovers. Binghamton struggled with sloppy play in its settled offense as well, contributing to its lack of shots. Bucknell continually found scoring opportunities off failed clears. BU had 13 failed clears in the contest.
“We had nine failed clears in the first half, and that’s going to take a toll on you,” said Binghamton head coach Kevin McKeown. “In the second half, we tried to do better with clearing the ball. I think we did a little better, but we still had too many failed. Their 10-man ride got to us and that was the story of the game. We were sloppy in the clearing, and due to their ride and the pressure they put on us, we threw the ball away a lot.”
The Bison, as a result of Binghamton’s struggles to establish possession, were able to create a wide disparity in shots on goal. Bucknell finished with 36 shots on goal as opposed to the Bearcats’ eight.
On the other end, the Bearcats’ defense was able to force Bucknell turnovers, but struggled to keep Bucknell senior midfielder Grayson Burns and senior attack Will Yorke off the wing positions.
Redshirt freshman goalie Teddy Dolan had a solid outing against Bucknell, securing 18 saves and allowing 10 goals by the Bison. The Bearcats are currently first in the nation in saves per game with 21.33. Junior goalie Robert Martin relieved Dolan and added two saves for Binghamton, but allowed six goals in the fourth quarter.
“I think [Dolan] played really well — he had 18 saves in just three quarters,” McKeown said. “We pulled him because he was seeing a lot of rubber out there and we gave [Martin] the last quarter. I thought he did outstanding, and if he told me he was going to play that well, I would’ve thought it would have been a much closer game.”
The Bison connected on 16 of their total 53 shots for a 30.2 percent clip on the day. Bucknell showed balanced scoring and found opportunities from all over the field. Ten different players registered a goal, with Yorke leading all scorers, as he netted four goals and added three assists.
Bucknell sophomore faceoff specialist Nick Crovatto was a force for the Bisons, going 12-of-18 against redshirt freshman faceoff specialist Brandon Rizzuto. Crovatto is 26th in the nation in faceoff win percentage at 58.3 percent.
The Bearcats will look to rebound against Army next Tuesday. Faceoff is set for 3 p.m. on March 3 from Michie Stadium in West Point, New York.