Four days after winning 13-12 in overtime against Mount St. Mary’s, the Binghamton men’s lacrosse team concluded its four-game road stretch in Queens, New York on Saturday, falling 13-6 to St. John’s. After leading 4-3 going into halftime, the Bearcats were outscored 10-2 in the second half as they fell to the Red Storm.
“I think overall as a team we got to do some things better to connect the dots in certain ways,” said Binghamton head coach Kevin McKeown.
In the first four minutes, Binghamton (2-4) got on the board with a goal from by junior attack Gage Adams off an assist by junior attack Matthew Keegan. St. John’s (2-6) response came soon after, as they went on to score back to back goals — just a minute apart. Then, 30 seconds later, senior attack Liam Ferris netted another goal for the Bearcats, knotting the contest at two. The final 8:33 remained scoreless as the game remained tied at two going at the end of the first quarter.
“We played relatively well defensively throughout the game,” McKeown said. “Our riding game was good and getting the ball back versus their clear.”
The Bearcats came out aggressive in second quarter, attempting eight shots on goal in St. John’s territory during the first eight minutes of the quarter. Then, taking advantage of an extra man opportunity, the tie was finally broken as Ferris scored his second goal of the game to put Binghamton ahead 3-2. Nearly three minutes later, Adams scored a goal to make it a 4-2 game. The Red Storm nabbed one final goal as the second quarter winded down, cutting Binghamton’s lead to 4-3 going into halftime.
“I think offensively we created some good opportunities at times that we just didn’t finish well,” McKeown said.
Coming out of halftime, St John’s built on the momentum it gained at the end of the first half. The Red Storm scored four unanswered goals to take a 7-4 lead over the Bearcats. At the 4:44 mark, the Bearcats found their first and only score of the half as sophomore midfielder Will Feldman cut the St. John’s lead to 7-5 going into the final quarter.
“We kind of never really got the ball rolling and got good enough goals going our way the second half,” McKeown said.
The Bearcats made it a one goal game, nearly five minutes into the fourth quarter as Ferris scored his third goal of the game and completed his hat trick to bring the score to 7-6. However, the Red Storm came right back, winning the face-off and scoring to extend its lead back to two. After this point, St. John’s offense dominated the rest of the match, scoring five more goals in the quarter while BU was kept off the board. When it was all said and done, the Bearcats suffered a 13-6 defeat at the hands of the Red Storm.
“[We will] figure out who to play and get guys out there that are going to compete and work to get that first conference win,” McKeown said.
The Bearcats will return to play at home against Merrimack on Saturday, March 16. First face-off is set for 12 p.m. at the Bearcats Sports Complex in Vestal, New York.