Binghamton men’s lacrosse sandwiched a win over Quinnipiac with losses to Penn State and Albany over spring break.
The Bearcats (4-5, 0-1 America East) fell 11-7 to then-No.17 Penn State on March 19, with senior midfield Nick Dolik leading the Nittany Lions with three goals. Junior attack Matt Springer stood out again for the Bearcats, with two goals and as many assists.
Down 9-3 at halftime, the Bearcats offense started to find its form. Junior attack Brandon Planck scored at the 10:23 mark in the third quarter, and Springer quickly followed suit off a feed from sophomore attack Tucker Nelson. Senior midfield Tyler Perrelle then scored from about 10 yards out and with a minute remaining in the third quarter, Nelson scored to make it 9-7.
But Penn State junior goalie Austin Kaut did not allow any more goals as the Nittany Lions prevailed.
“I’m pretty disappointed with our performance in the first half,” head coach Scott Nelson said in a press release on BUBearcats.com. “To give up nine goals is uncharacteristic of our defense. I thought we played about as good of a third quarter as you can hope for, but in the end [Penn State] made the plays that made the difference.”
Four days later, a Springer hat trick helped Binghamton power past visiting Quinnipiac 11-9.
Springer set the tone immediately, scoring six seconds after opening faceoff. The Bearcats had never tallied a goal that early in a game. Planck quickly followed suit with a goal two minutes later, and the Bearcats held a 2-0 advantage.
But Quinnipiac gained its first lead early in the third quarter. Binghamton junior midfield Kelly Donigan answered with a goal, though, and the Bearcats never trailed again.
Donigan tied it up after he received a pass from freshman midfield Johnny Maher about 15 yards out. A few minutes later, senior midfielder Shane Warner took advantage of the caused turnover from junior defense Garrett Augustyn and found a wide open Springer down the field who scored a quick goal at the 8:39 mark in the third. Donigan then scored again towards the end of the third quarter to pull the Bearcats ahead 9-7.
After Quinnipiac pulled within 10-9, Binghamton secured the win on a goal from sophomore midfield J.T. Hauck. Tucker Nelson connected with a cutting Hauck who beat the Bobcats goalie for his fourth goal of the season.
Junior midfielder Alex Doerflein, a faceoff specialist, won a career-best 17-of-23 against the Bobcats. Doerflein also scooped up a team-high 13 ground balls and scored his first career goal in the first quarter. Junior goalie Max Schefler wrapped up the game with 13 stops.
Last Saturday afternoon, Albany defeated Binghamton 21-8 in an America East conference game at the Bearcats Sports Complex. Sophomore midfield Lyle Thompson and junior attack Myles Thompson accounted for 10 of Albany’s goals as the Great Danes improved to 6-3 on the season.
Junior attack Michael Antinozzi scored a team-high three goals for Binghamton.
Albany has one of the nation’s top offensive units and certainly proved so in Saturday’s game — Albany’s 21 goals are the most allowed by Binghamton since April 17, 2011 when the Bearcats fell to Quinnipiac 24-2.
BU is set to continue conference play Saturday at Stony Brook. Opening faceoff is set for 4 p.m. at Kenneth P. LaValle Stadium.