It was a tale of two halves on Sunday as the Binghamton men’s lacrosse team dropped an overtime thriller at No. 16/20 Stony Brook, 14-13. For the Bearcats (4-8, 2-3 America East), the loss represented a missed opportunity to climb a spot in the standings and move closer toward a post-season berth in the conference tournament.
“I thought we did everything really well today and we came up just a little short,” BU head coach Scott Nelson said.
In its final road game of the 2015 season, BU squared off against the Seawolves (11-4, 4-1 AE), who came into the game after winning three straight America East contests. But it was the Bearcats that walked into Saturday red hot.
After the hosts opened scoring, junior attack Zach Scaduto evened the game at one following a successful faceoff. Going forward, senior attack Tucker Nelson netted two straight unassisted goals before senior attack Paul O’Donnell followed with one of his own to give the Bearcats a 4-1 edge.
Key defensive mistakes and penalties would prove costly for Binghamton all game and aided in an SBU goal to open the second quarter. But three more BU goals stifled any chance for Stony Brook to gain momentum. Senior midfielder Anthony Lombardo notched his first goal of the season due to a Seawolves miscue, setting the stage for a comfortable Bearcat lead, 8-4, heading into halftime.
Keeping the heat on, BU struck first in the second half on a goal by sophomore midfielder Tyler Deluca. A great defensive stand by the BU defense culminated in another goal just two minutes later by junior midfielder Johnny Maher, giving BU what would be its largest lead of the day at 10-4. But the third quarter belonged to the hosts, as Stony Brook capitalized on Binghamton’s drought by putting up six straight goals to close the quarter knotted up at 10.
In a back and forth final 15, Deluca cashed in a Binghamton goal to put the Bearcats back on top. After a pair of SBU scores, however, BU fell behind, 12-11, with under 10 minutes to go. Then, with just over eight minutes left on the clock, O’Donnell tied the score at 12 on a clutch solo shot. One minute later, SBU senior midfielder Mike Rooney added another goal to regain the lead for the Seawolves. On the verge of wasting a dominating first-half performance, redshirt freshman attack Sean Gilroy tied the game at 13 with 2:01 remaining to force the overtime period.
“Stony Brook had a spurt there obviously,” Nelson said. “But our guys hung really tough and played a great fourth quarter.”
In an overtime period that saw two Bearcats lost to penalties, SBU peppered the Binghamton goal before, with 50 seconds left on the clock in OT, Stony Brook successfully converted to close the contest, 14-13.
With one game remaining in the regular season, the Bearcats must win in order to earn a place in the America East tournament. BU’s final game will come against a Vermont team that currently sits one spot above the Bearcats in the conference standings. Doubling as the team’s senior night, the stage is set for the Bearcats to earn a playoff berth.
“It’s a big game for us,” Nelson said. “They’ve got a great offense and we will really be tested defensively. It’s the last game for our seniors and we’d like to send them out the right way.”
Binghamton is set to face-off against Vermont Saturday at 1 p.m. at Bearcats Sports Complex in Vestal, New York.