As the clock hit zero, Sean Meluney knelt in the mud in disappointment, watching the rival Stony Brook Seawolves storm the East Gym field in celebration after completing their 9-8 come-from-behind victory. Just 24 seconds earlier, Meluney watched Jake Boyce’s pass sail just beyond the reach of teammate Rob Williams, ending any hopes of Binghamton scoring a desperation tying goal in the closing seconds.

The Binghamton men’s lacrosse team (6-6, 2-2 AE) led Stony Brook (8-4, 4-0 AE) by three goals in the second quarter, but once again the Bearcats’ offense faltered in the second half, unable to score as the Seawolves overcame an 8-6 halftime deficit. In their last three games, the Bearcats have scored just five second-half goals.

Binghamton was kept afloat by senior goalie Kevin McKeown, who stepped up late to tally eight second-half saves, and freshman midfielder J.P. Wioncek, who won 15 of 21 faceoffs.

“I think the second half maybe we got a little tired, maybe our legs got tired,” McKeown said. “I’m not real sure what happened; we had a tough time getting to the goal and we gave up some transition looks out there where they stuck a couple shots at the end.”

With 9:07 remaining in the third quarter, Stony Brook senior attack Adam Marksberry scored his only goal of the game off an assist from Jason Cappodoro (who totaled five in the contest), which tied the score at 8-8 and caused McKeown to jump up in frustration. Sophomore attack Bo Tripodi added his third goal of the night — the game winner — with 2:28 remaining.

“We held them to three and we didn’t get on the board in the second half, although we had some real, real good looks,” said head coach Ed Stephenson. “You know we had a lot of shots at seven, eight yards that we didn’t finish. And we had three lay-ups that missed the cage, which is a heartbreaker to have a lay-up, one-on-one with the goalie, and not finish it.”

Binghamton’s scoring was attributed to Boyce, who netted three goals, as well as Williams and junior midfielder Jeff Santucci, who had two scores apiece.

“I wouldn’t say the sticks went silent, I would just say we missed opportunities,” said junior attack Matt McNamara. “We just couldn’t put the ball away. We haven’t been able to find the back of the net in the second half that much.”

BATTLE OF ALL-AMERICAN GOALIES

Binghamton’s senior goalie Kevin McKeown and Stony Brook’s junior goalie Brendan Callahan were both All-American honorable mentions in 2004, as well as America East All-Rookie selections their freshman year. Callahan, who has allowed 8.98 goals on average this season and made 130 saves, outlasted McKeown on Saturday, who has averaged 8.64 goals against and made 95 saves.

“The conditions were tough for both teams, especially around the creases,” Callahan said. “Me and Kevin struggled a lot in the first half, trying to get the shots with the footing and everything like that. We only scored three [goals] in the second half but it was enough to get the win today.”