The Binghamton men’s lacrosse team, adhering to the weekend’s theme, extended its game into overtime against Hobart on Saturday. But unlike the basketball teams, BU (2-2) pulled away with the win, 11-10, preserving an unblemished record on the road.
Junior attack Paul O’Donnell netted the tie-breaking goal with just three seconds remaining in overtime to garner the win. He and senior attack Matt Springer led Binghamton’s offense, combining for seven of the team’s 11 goals. Junior attack Tucker Nelson rounded out the team’s main contributors with two goals and three assists on the day.
“Our attack had a great day; we had nine goals from the attack, and they really took it to Hobart’s young defense,” BU head coach Scott Nelson said. “I thought the offense played with a lot more confidence.”
In addition to a scoring outburst from the Bearcat attack, BU also played stellar defense in the second half, especially as the game came to a close. After Hobart captain Taylor Vanderbeek put away his team’s final goal with 12:16 left in the fourth to establish a one-point lead, the Bearcats locked down the Statesmen for the remainder of the game. The Bearcat defense highlighted the team’s fourth-quarter performance, allowing its attack to score four of the game’s final five goals and eventually bring them out on top.
“I think we had some bad spurts defensively, but then we were able to get together in the fourth quarter,” Nelson said. “After they scored with 12 minutes to go, they didn’t score for the rest of the game. The defense hung tough even though we had some adversity earlier in the game. They did a great job.”
After being locked in a 10-point tie with Hobart for most of overtime, O’Donnell put away his game-winning goal, his second of the season, with just 2.3 seconds to go.
Next on the schedule for BU is a weekend tilt against Delaware, which currently stands just outside the Top 20 in the Inside Lacrosse poll.
“We’re going to have to be smart, stay out of the penalty box,” Nelson said. “They have a very good young goalie, so we’re going to have to shoot the ball very well.”
This weekend’s game against Delaware (3-2) will mark the start of three consecutive home games for BU, where the team will seek its first win at home after allowing its first two opportunities to slip away.
The game is set to begin at 1 p.m. Saturday at the Bearcats Sports Complex.