This past Tuesday, the Binghamton men’s lacrosse team took on Canisius in its first home game of the season. After a furiously fought second half, Canisius (1-1) came out on top, taking the game 12-10. The Bearcats (0-3) outshot Canisius 37-31 and captured 18 of 25 faceoffs in the defeat.
“Obviously we’re disappointed to lose the home opener,” said BU head coach Kevin McKeown. “I thought we took some steps at times today and then our second half we had some untimely turnovers, and they did a good job of pushing transition off of those turnovers and got some easier goals. You know, they’ve got some dangerous kids … we’re disappointed, but we’ve gotta use it as another opportunity to get better and keep looking forward and get ready for Marist on Sunday.”
During the first quarter, the game’s first goal came from Canisius senior attack Connor Kearnan in just under two minutes. Binghamton quickly responded with a goal of its own from freshman attack Will Talbott-Shere. By the end of the first quarter, the score was at 3-2 in favor of BU.
Binghamton piled on the goals coming into the second quarter, scoring three unanswered goals just a few minutes into play. Canisius countered with a goal of its own, but it was quickly matched by another Bearcat goal from senior midfielder Stephen Petrelli. The Golden Griffins were able to tack on two more scores before the half, but BU retained its advantage as the scoreboard read 8-6 at halftime.
“It was our first time we were playing with the lead, so that’s a positive there,” McKeown said. “And then I think we have to learn how to handle it better. Our upperclassmen [who] are experienced guys need to have a little bit better composure with the ball, and we have to do a better job of preparing some of the guys in certain scenarios in the clearing … we have to learn from our mistakes today and get ready for Sunday.”
Canisius scored a goal approximately two minutes into the third period, followed by a second several minutes later. With the score tied 8-8, the Bearcats showcased their best efforts to regain control of the contest with multiple shot attempts. Following these empty trips from BU, the Golden Griffins scored another goal with 3 1/2 minutes remaining in the quarter. One minute later, freshman attack Sean Makar scored his four goals of the season, tying the game once again. The contest headed into the final quarter with the score tied at 9-9.
A goal from Petrelli in the opening minutes of the final quarter fueled Binghamton’s edge once again. This marked his eighth tally of the season and his fourth in the game. A response from the Golden Griffins tied the game for what seemed to be the hundredth time. With just over five minutes remaining, Canisius scored two unanswered goals in the game, taking the match by two.
“Our guys are resilient,” McKeown said. “They know what they’re capable of. They know that they’re not performing to their potential right now. But right now that’s all it is, it’s potential on paper. We’ve gotta get out here to the practice field and show that we can be better.”
Still looking for its first win of the season, BU returns to action this Sunday when it travels to Poughkeepsie, New York to take on Marist. Opening faceoff from Tenney Stadium is scheduled for 1 p.m.