ITHACA ‘ It was lambs to the slaughter Saturday, by a score of 19-4.

For the second straight season, the Binghamton men’s lacrosse team opened its season at Cornell’s Schoellkopf Field to a thorough dismantling courtesy of the Big Red.

The baby Bearcats ‘ with as many freshmen (12) as upperclassmen ‘ were overmatched by No. 7 Cornell to begin with, but it was BU’s own poor play that allowed the Ivy to open the flood gates.

‘We got a pretty good team that didn’t look like it today,’ said Binghamton head coach Ed Stephenson. ‘We lost our fundamentals ‘ you can’t pinpoint one [problem], it was pretty much the whole team.’

In last year’s match, which saw Binghamton fall by a similarly large margin, 16-3. All-American attack David Mitchell accounted for half of the Big Red’s scoring with eight goals.

No single Cornell player took over this time (Mitchell scored twice), but junior midfielder John Glynn came off the bench in his first game in over a year after a knee injury and still matched Binghamton’s offensive output by himself, netting four goals and assisting another two. Senior attacks Henry Bartlett and Eric Pittard scored three times each.

‘We felt very good about [Glynn’s] performance,’ said Cornell head coach Jeff Tambroni. ‘He waited so long to put the uniform back on and spent months rehabbing.’

The Bearcats felt considerably worse.

‘This was a lot different loss than last year,’ Stephenson said. ‘You know last year [Cornell] was a better team and we really didn’t play that well. But this year, I’m more disappointed because we’re a better team; we’re a lot better team than last year.’

Binghamton was down 12-0 before putting together a strong run in the third quarter, as sophomore J.P. Wioncek won eight of the period’s 11 faceoffs (as well as 15 of 25 on the day) and kept Binghamton on the offensive. The Bearcats netted all four of their goals between the quarter’s six-minute mark and finish, including two in a 46-second span.

‘I just tried to provide a spark for the team,’ Wioncek said. ‘Something had to happen.’

Binghamton’s most noteworthy goal was delivered by sophomore Jake Boyce ‘ covered by All-American senior defender Mitch Belisle ‘ as he fought his way around the left side of the goal to 20 feet in front before spinning between several defenders and beating another All-American senior, goalkeeper Matt McMonagle.

The Bearcats struggled defensively the entire game. Sophomore goalie Larry Kline, who allowed all 19 goals, had as many saves (nine) as McMonagle, but had to defend 30 more shots, as Binghamton took 17 and Cornell 47.

‘You really just got to try to maintain your composure; as an athlete and as a captain too, you got to lead by example,’ Kline said of his mindset during the blowout.

Stephenson said he did not consider pulling Kline, but that junior Jeff Walker, Kline’s competition, will see time in goal.

The Big Red doubled BU’s groundballs, picking up 44 to Binghamton’s 22, and had 10 fewer turnovers, 19 to Binghamton’s 29.

Senior defender Tom Wilmot landed several big body checks, legally sending Cornell players flying throughout the game.

But Binghamton’s frustrations would come to a head illegally in the game’s final minutes, as junior midfielder Stephen Smith was called for slashing the fallen ball-carrier who was thumbing the ball to prevent it from coming out. Shortly before, a Cornell player lost his stick and Binghamton proceeded to knock it out of reach, though the intent of the act was unclear.

Tambroni found no bad blood in the incident: ‘[I] have the utmost respect in coach Stephenson and the way he coaches his program, and I know that he does not coach that way nor do his players play that way.’

Three hundred eighty seven fans attended in the snow-blanketed aisles; the game’s start was delayed to clear the field. Despite the cold, most players still donned the customary shorts.

The Bearcats had a cheering section that rivaled Cornell’s in size but was largely drowned out as Binghamton fell further behind.

‘I think this group will be ready to bounce back,’ Stephenson said. ‘[But] I hate to be in the same place as we were last year.’

It might not be the worst thing. After last year’s opening loss to Cornell, the Bearcats rolled to four straight wins and the No. 16 spot in the nation.

Binghamton heads to Geneva, N.Y., to take on Hobart Saturday.