The Binghamton men’s lacrosse team spent the past few days traveling upstate New York to Geneva and Ithaca on Saturday and Tuesday, respectively, in search of its first victory of the season. But the Bearcats (0-6) fell to Hobart College, 17-6, and Cornell, 18-2, extending their losing streak to six.
Last Saturday, Binghamton earned the first goal of the game against Hobart (2-3) just five minutes into the first period on a shot from sophomore midfielder Jon Perotto, assisted by freshman attack Jackson Rieger. However, BU held the advantage for just a minute and a half before the Statesmen went on a four-goal stretch that put them ahead, 4-1, at the end of the first quarter.
Hobart put up two more scores in the second quarter, extending its lead, before Binghamton countered with a goal from junior midfielder Joe Licata — his second of the season. The Statesmen were quick to respond less than a minute later, netting a goal of their own. The Bearcats were able to put up one more goal before halftime, but still trailed 7-3. Hobart held the advantage in shots on goal by a 15-to-five margin at the break, indicative of its dominance of play.
Riding its momentum out of the halftime locker room, Hobart came out onto the field and quickly put up four additional goals to lengthen its lead to 11-3, including two from sophomore attack Justin Scott, earning him a hat trick.
The Bearcats attempted to make a comeback, recording two goals, but their efforts were not enough to overcome the flurry of shots sent their way by Hobart during the period. Hobart rifled 11 shots on goal in the third alone, and extended its advantage to eight by its end. The Bearcats ultimately lost the contest by 11 goals.
Looking for redemption on Saturday against Cornell, Binghamton did not start off on the right foot. Going scoreless in the first quarter, the Bearcats were unable to put a goal on the board until midway through the second. Cornell was relentless on its offensive side of the field, resulting in a nearly insurmountable 11-1 halftime deficit for Binghamton.
“It was disappointing,” said BU head coach Kevin McKeown. “I thought we’d be able to compete a little bit better than we did.”
The third quarter featured BU scoreless once again, while Cornell cashed in another five shots to extend the margin to 16-1, including the third and fourth of the game for junior attack Clarke Petterson. Another meaningless fourth quarter ensued for the Bearcats, who would ultimately drop the game in a blowout, only managing two goals the entire match.
“We saw some bright spots,” McKeown said. “[Junior long-stick midfielder] Tim Mattiace had five ground balls for us. [Senior midfielder] Kevin Fuchs was a guy who came in in the second half and kind of gave us a little bit of a spark.”
Despite his disappointment over the loss, McKeown was still optimistic about the team’s upcoming America East Conference games.
“Well really, it is all about getting ready for that conference play,” McKeown said. “Being 0 and six, none of that’s going to matter once we start conference play next week.”
Binghamton will continue the search for its first victory against the University of Delaware at home this Saturday, March 10. Opening faceoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. from the Bearcats Sports Complex in Vestal, New York.