Tomorrow the men’s lacrosse team will try to honor its seniors in the most dramatic way possible: an upset bid over rival Albany.
No. 6 Albany (12-1, 4-0 AE) is the highest ranked team to visit BU in any sport. Binghamton (3-8, 2-2 AE), a team that has only recently begun to hit its stride, will seek to end its rival’s undefeated season. Albany is reeling after a loss to Syracuse and a near-upset by Dartmouth.
The Bearcats have their work cut out for them. Their first priority is containing senior attack Frank Resetarits, who is third in the nation in points per game. Resetarits is coming off a career performance against Dartmouth, where he tallied seven goals and one assist, including the game-winning goal with 6.5 seconds remaining.
Resetarits isn’t UA’s only offensive threat; senior attack Merrick Thomson ranks 18th in the country in points. Resetarits and Thomson benefit from Albany’s fast midfielders, who command attention from opposing defenders.
‘They have good inside-out game,’ said BU head coach Ed Stephenson. ‘They have good speed and quickness on the midfield, so you have to slide to their guys on the outside and leave the attack guys near the crease.’
The task for the BU defense will be keeping tabs on the attackmen without the ball, who often get wide-open looks. Stephenson believes the key to an aware defense is communication.
‘This is not a team that you can defend well without all seven guys working together, including the goalie,’ he said.
Another key for Binghamton will be putting together a complete game. The Bearcats have been solid in spurts, but not for 60 minutes. Stephenson’s plan for establishing consistency starts on the defensive end.
‘What we’ve got to do is eliminate one more breakdown defensively per quarter,’ Stephenson said. ‘And on offense we want to finish one more high percentage shot per quarter.’
Albany was ranked No. 2 in the nation for most of the season, but recently fell in the polls after losing to No. 12 Syracuse. The Danes will be the Bearcats’ third top-10 opponent this season, after No. 1 Cornell and No. 3 Virginia. Binghamton nearly upset Virginia, but allowed a five-goal barrage in the fourth quarter.
Tomorrow’s senior day will mark the last BU lacrosse game at home for Tom Wilmot, Chris Bernard, Matt McNamara, Nate Kerstein, Rob Williams, Jeff Kaylor and Jeff Santucci. It is also the last lacrosse game for the East Gym Complex, which will be replaced by a highly anticipated artificial turf field next season.
It is Binghamton’s first and only game on campus this season to occur when school is in session. Faceoff is set for 3 p.m.