The postseason-bound Binghamton University men’s lacrosse team is set for its final tune-up of the regular season when it will try to put a leash on the Great Danes tomorrow.
Binghamton (6-7, 2-2 America East) is scheduled to square off against University at Albany (5-9, 0-4 AE) in its 14th and final regular season game of the 2011 campaign. While the Bearcats have already clinched a playoff spot, the match still has seeding implications for two other teams in the four-team tournament field: University of Maryland, Baltimore County and University of Hartford. Stony Brook University has already clinched the top seed.
While the tournament field has been set, Binghamton interim head coach Kevin McKeown isn’t looking too far ahead just yet.
“To be honest, we’re just keeping our eyes on [the other teams’] games this weekend and really just going to worry about Albany until about 9:30 p.m. on Saturday,” he said. “They’re all very good teams, and we’ll prepare for whoever we have to prepare for at that point.”
After their streak of six consecutive America East tournament appearances was snapped in 2010, the Bearcats are headed back to the postseason again, anchored by their best record since their 7-8 (2-3 AE) mark in 2006. Albany, meanwhile, sits in the basement of the America East with a winless conference record.
“I think they’re a very, very talented team,” McKeown said of the Great Danes. “They got a big win over Siena on Tuesday … they’re going to be a big challenge. Offensively, they’re a very talented team.”
The 2011 campaign for the Bearcats has certainly had its ups and downs. The season started off poorly with three consecutive losses. That was followed by four straight victories, something Binghamton hadn’t done since March of 2006. The team then underwent a head coaching change after the surprise resignation of Ed Stephenson, who had been with the University’s lacrosse program since its Division I inception. After assistant coach and former Bearcat goalie Kevin McKeown took command, the team dropped four of its next five games, but then on Saturday defeated Hartford in thrilling fashion to secure a playoff berth.
“I think everyone feels good about the win,” McKeown said. “But we made sure to keep the guys focused, and I think our seniors and captains are doing a great job of that … knowing that we’ve got one this weekend, that’s a very big game on senior day.”
With a win, the Bearcats would improve their record to 7-7, which would mark the team’s first non-losing season since 2004 and only the second time doing so in the program’s Division I history.
“The success so far that we’ve had means a lot,” McKeown said. “Obviously I think our ultimate goal is still yet to be reached, and this team certainly has the potential and ability to reach that ultimate goal, so it’s very exciting and I’m very excited for these guys, specifically our seven seniors, for the opportunity that they have in front of them.”
That success has been fueled in part by the performance of sophomore Matt Springer who, with 26 goals and a propensity to erupt for multiple goals in a match, has a chance to re-set the single-season Binghamton scoring record he broke with 29 as a rookie. Springer has tallied 55 total goals in two years as a Bearcat and ranks fourth in scoring in program history.
McKeown believes that the team’s success is very much in sync with Springer’s individual success.
“Right now, as Matt goes, we’re kind of going,” McKeown said. “When he gets a couple of goals, we’re usually in pretty good shape. He’s got a tremendous ability to find the back of the net and beat the other team’s goalie.”
Springer and senior defenseman Derrick Danieu are both nominees for America East Fans’ Choice Player of the Year, which is to be determined through online voting and set to be announced on May 2.
While Danieu doesn’t rack up the accolades on the stat sheet that Springer does, he is just as much of a force defensively as Springer is offensively.
“Every game, [Danieu] is covering the top player on our opponent’s team,” McKeown said. “He just puts in a lot of time off the field, especially in the weight room. He’s the strongest kid to ever come through this program; his footwork is also tremendous which allows him to be a great one-on-one defender. He has done a great job of shutting down some of the very best players in the country this year.”
Springer, Danieu and the Bearcats are set to face the Great Danes at the Bearcats Sports Complex tomorrow in this year’s Senior Night match, where the seven senior Bearcats players, including Danieu, will be recognized. Face-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.