Passuello, Franze return as fifth-years as women’s lacrosse prepares for season opener
After defeating Colgate 12-8 on March 11, the Binghamton women’s lacrosse team won its second consecutive game and seemed to be finding momentum as conference play neared. The next day, however, the remainder of their season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Two seniors from last year’s team, goalkeeper Taylor Passuello and midfielder Alissa Franze, took advantage of the extra year of eligibility and returned to the team this season.
The team went 3-5 in the shortened 2020 season after going 2-15 the previous year. Offensively, all three of the team’s top scorers return to the roster this season. Senior attack Paige Volkmann was having a breakout season with 18 goals and 7 assists. Senior midfielder Alyssa Sanchez scored 10 goals and junior attack Sidra Morchower scored seven.
On defense, Passuello will lead the unit in her fourth season as a starter. Other key returners include junior attack Emily Masera and senior defenders Brianna Distler and Sam Fama. After missing the last few games due to injury, senior midfielder Kelly Quinn will return to the field after scoring 10 goals as a sophomore.
In this season’s America East (AE) preseason poll, the Bearcats were picked to finish sixth in the league. After winning the last seven AE titles, Stony Brook was the unanimous favorite, followed by Albany.
The Bearcats will open their season against UMass Lowell on Saturday, March 6. First draw control is set for 1 p.m. at the Bearcats Sports Complex in Vestal, New York.
Men’s lacrosse looks to improve after difficult start to 2020 season
After its 2020 campaign was cut short, the Binghamton men’s lacrosse team finished the season with a 1-5 record. The team struggled last season, and the Bearcats will look to make their first postseason appearance since 2017 this season.
This season, with the addition of NJIT to the AE, the preseason coaches’ poll projected the Bearcats to finish seventh out of eight teams. Stony Brook narrowly edged out Albany for first place, with UMBC slated third in the tight poll.
Binghamton will return two of its top defensive players from last season. Leading the defense is redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Teddy Dolan, who made 87 saves during the shortened 2020 season. In front of Dolan, senior defender Tom Galgano will help guard the cage for the Bearcats after causing a team-high of 13 turnovers in 2020.
Offensively, senior attack Justin Roderka led Binghamton with 12 goals in his first season with the team after transferring to BU. Junior attack Kevin Winkoff had nine goals and six assists, leading the team in points. Sophomore midfielder Thomas Greenblatt was third on the team with seven goals last season.
In addition to their returners, nine freshmen joined the team this season.
The Bearcats will open their season against NJIT on Saturday, March 6. Faceoff is set for 1 p.m. at Lubetkin Field at Mal Simon Stadium in Newark, New Jersey.