Kevin McKeown slammed his stick down on the bench in a fury. The Colgate Red Raiders had just scored twice in less than a minute, prompting BU men’s lacrosse head coach Ed Stephenson to remove his star senior goalie — much to McKeown’s chagrin.

On the sidelines, senior midfielder Brian Chaapel comfortingly placed his arm around McKeown’s back. No one can block every shot, right?

“If he goes, we go, so I gotta keep him calm,” Chaapel said after the Bearcats’ loss to the Red Raiders on April 11. “He might let in shots that he didn’t think he should let in, but I just want to get to him, make sure that he realizes that he’s still our guy. You know, that come crunch time, we’re gonna look at him.”

Chaapel, along with David Burpoe, Matt DeCirce, Kevin Kaylor, Sean Meluney and Scott Mitchell, shares a unique bond with McKeown, as members of the first-ever men’s lacrosse recruiting class. As the goalie, McKeown is the cornerstone of the team, the player with the single-most profound effect on the game. With his shot-stopping abilities leading the way, the men’s lacrosse team has been transformed from an infant Division I program into the nationally respected competitor that was ranked 16th earlier in the season.

There was a long road in between.

“We’re able to take a lot of pride in it,” McKeown said. “As it has evolved over the last four years now, we’ve come a long way.”

It was the opportunity to play all four years as well as Stephenson’s vision for the future that swayed McKeown to come to Binghamton, bypassing his second choice, Fairfield. It didn’t take long for McKeown to show flashes of the brilliance to come.

On March 21, 2003, McKeown protected a 7-6 lead against Quinnipiac with 9:19 remaining in the fourth quarter. As the Bobcats came at the freshman goalie with all they had, McKeown stood steady, earning the Bearcats their first conference win, albeit not in the most orthodox of fashions.

“He saved it with his shoulder, with his arm, they were hitting off his head, off his leg,” Stephenson recalled. “He would do anything to save that ball. Probably took on about eight shots, and he’s probably got about eight welts to show for that, but he preserved the win for us and it was just an amazing effort by him.”

Indeed, McKeown would do anything to make a save, but as a sophomore he didn’t need to use anything but his stick. Led by his conference-best average of 7.03 goals against, the 16th best Division-I mark of all time, Binghamton went undefeated in the America East en route to the regular season title. McKeown was named conference Player of the Year and earned All-American honorable mention honors — the only Binghamton lacrosse player to have earned either distinction.

“Kevo just saves you when you make a bad play,” Meluney said. “Having him in there keeps you from looking bad.”

As a four year captain, McKeown is also the Bearcats’ leader. He credits Tyler Moore, whom he played with for one season, and particularly Chris Healy, whom he played with for two, for showing him how to take charge. Though both players are now gone, this past winter McKeown and a few teammates flew down to Jamaica for Healy’s wedding. Now, as the sun sets on his own career, McKeown remembers the invaluable lessons he was taught and has taken the next generation of Binghamton lacrosse players under his wing.

“He’s shown me a lot,” said Jeff Walker, a sophomore goalie who will battle classmate Larry Kline for the starting job next season. “Every day he comes out to practice, he plays as hard as he can. He’s always on his game. That’s what makes him so great.”

McKeown finished his career with a 7.51 goals against average and 509 saves in 55 games. Even though he never got to play in an NCAA tournament, the keystone player of BU’s founding class has no regrets. Looking back, McKeown is grateful for his time at Binghamton.

“Four years went by really fast,” McKeown said. “There were high times and low times, but overall it was just a great experience.”

TIME FLIES WHEN YOU’RE PLAYING LACROSSE

Kevin McKeown’s road to Binghamton traces back to the summer after either second or third grade — he can’t recall which — when he first picked up a stick. He hasn’t put it down since.

The 6-foot-1 goalie hails from Brewster, N.Y., a town that’s located about an hour north of New York City in Westchester County, where he played four years of varsity lacrosse and football (he was a tight end and outside linebacker).

An economics major at Binghamton, McKeown plans on attending graduate school at Manhattanville next fall. He hopes to someday become an elementary or middle school teacher — and a lacrosse coach, of course.

McKeown’s life off the field is also heavily centered around sports. He’s a huge Buffalo Bills and New York Mets fan (David Wright is his favorite player) and he loves to play MVP Baseball and Madden 2006 in his free time.

“Me and [Brian] Chaapel have some intense Madden battles,” McKeown said. “We like to draft our teams up.”