The Binghamton men’s lacrosse team hit the field for the first time this year at home on Saturday. Facing an 18th-ranked Colgate squad hot off defeating No. 10 Syracuse on Saturday, the season opener ended on a losing note for BU. Despite a strong start to the game, the Bearcats (0-1) fell in a 16-10 finish to the Raiders (2-0).
The Bearcats looked promising throughout the first quarter, with freshman defender Drew Furlong netting a quick goal off the draw by senior midfielder Jack Sullivan. Binghamton got on the board again only a minute later when freshman midfielder Kevin Winkoff registered his first collegiate goal. The first quarter ended with the game tied at 4-4, but the Raiders (2-0) pulled away with a run in the second and had a four-goal lead at the end of the first half that never narrowed.
The story of the game was Binghamton’s inability to limit shots on goal, allowing sophomore goalie Robert Martin and redshirt junior goalie Kevin Carbone to be barraged with 43 shots and 31 on goal. Martin started in net, registering eight saves and allowing nine goals, while Carbone saved seven shots and allowed seven goals.
Conversely, Binghamton’s offense was less potent, putting up 35 shots with 20 on goal. Joe Licata, senior midfielder, led the Bearcats with three goals and two assists on the afternoon, showing his role as a focal point of the Bearcats’ offense this season.
A big change across college lacrosse this season was the addition of a persistent shot clock. Previously, the referees would employ a shot clock only if they felt a team was stalling the clock, often resulting in controversy due to the subjective nature of the calls. NCAA rules led to the installation of an 80-second shot clock to encourage a faster, more exciting game.
“I think it’s a faster game, as there is less standing around time,” said BU head coach Kevin McKeown. “It’s exciting, and we are trying to play a faster game … we did score some transition goals, especially early, which were great, and we had some big momentum at the start, but, in the end, we couldn’t make enough plays.”
Colgate’s Malcolm Feeney, junior faceoff specialist, dominated any opposition Binghamton threw at him, going 14-of-19 on faceoffs for the afternoon. However, the battles were rarely clean, often turning into a mosh pit of red and white for possession. Once the dust settled, Colgate consistently settled into its offense, working to draw a slide while dodging on goal-line extended and dish to a shooter or isolating midfielders up top, aiming to dodge from up top and create their own shot.
“We knew going into the game that [Feeney] was probably going to be pretty good at clamping the ball,” McKeown said. “We wanted to put pressure on him if he did get it, and I think we had some success with that in the second quarter, but a big part of it, too, was ground balls off the faceoff, and I think that’s something we have to get better at.”
Colgate was able to score in unsettled situations several times, primarily off BU turnovers and clears, especially as Binghamton resorted to pulling the goalie out of net in attempt to scramble the offense.
“I thought they got us in transition a couple times, which really hurt us,” McKeown said. “Those are big momentum goals, and they got two off quick clears and caught us off guard. We were not as ready to defend as we needed to be, and credit to them, they’re a ranked team right now for a reason.”
The Bearcats were unable to stay out of the penalty box, registering four minutes and 30 seconds of penalty time over the span of six instances. The Raiders, however, were able to avoid the box, only serving a minute. With six opportunities against a man-down Bearcat defense, Colgate was lackluster, managing to convert on only one of six man-up situations.
Senior long stick midfielder Tim Mattiace, who is one of two captains along with Licata, had lockdown defense as he registered four caused turnovers by himself, adding to Binghamton’s total of nine for the afternoon. Despite Mattiace’s aggressive defense, his team was unable to slow the Raiders after their run in the second, with Colgate outscoring BU 5-1 in the third to create a 10-2 stretch. BU outscored the Raiders 3-1 in the last 12 minutes, but it was not enough to get the team back into the contest.
“I thought they did a good job of using their 80 seconds, and I don’t know if we did the best job of using our 80 seconds,” McKeown said. “We had some quick turnovers that led to some fast possessions and them getting the ball back.”
Binghamton will look to bounce back against Lafayette on Saturday, Feb. 23. Opening faceoff is scheduled for noon from Fisher Stadium in Easton, PA.