On the wrong side of an early flurry, the Stony Brook men’s lacrosse team fell into a hole too deep to climb out of en route to a loss.
The Seawolves (4-3) took on the Binghamton Bearcats (1-4) at Kenneth P. LaValle Stadium on Saturday afternoon and got off to a rough start. Stony Brook’s defense allowed the most goals in a single period this season — with five in the first period — forcing them to play catch-up in an eventual 12-10 defeat.
The Seawolves got off on the wrong foot early in the first period following an opening minute penalty for an illegal body check. Binghamton midfielder Jack Mellen opened up the scoreboard, notching a goal on the man advantage, giving the Bearcats the lead just 48 seconds into the contest.
Things only worsened for Stony Brook as they proceeded to concede three straight goals within the first six minutes of play. The Seawolves briefly weathered the storm as midfielder Ryan Barker reeled one back but still found themselves down 5-1 at the end of the quarter.
Stony Brook showed signs of life in the second period, netting three goals and allowing two to make it a 7-4 deficit going into halftime.
While the Seawolves’ offense kicked into gear in the second half, the Bearcats seemingly had a response for every attempt to cut into the deficit. After Binghamton attacker Liam Ferris found midfielder Nolan Sharkey to put Binghamton up 9-5, Stony Brook strung together its closest comeback charge.
After a back and forth third period, Barker’s second goal of the game got the Seawolves to within one early in the final period of play, making it a 10-9 game. However, that was as close as Stony Brook got in the contest as Binghamton pulled ahead late. Back-to-back goals from Binghamton midfielder Matthew Rincon and attacker Andrew Girolamo was the straw that broke the camel’s back, as the Seawolves could only muster up one more goal afterwards.
“We were not ready to play with the level of focus, urgency and energy,” head coach Anthony Gilardi said in a postgame interview with Stony Brook Athletics. “I have to do a better job of getting the message across that we have to earn every single thing in every game. We need to learn from this.”
Stony Brook was outshot by the Bearcats 44 (30 shots on goal) to 40 (19 shots on goal).
Midfielder Collin Williamson turned in a great game for the Seawolves with two goals and two assists. They also got great games out of Barker and attacker Justin Bonacci, who put up two goals and an assist each.
Binghamton was led by Girolamo, who registered a hat trick plus an assist for a four-point afternoon. Ferris also had a strong showing, with a goal and two assists in the game.
Goaltender Jamison MacLachlan made 18 saves in the contest and put up a .600 save percentage, while Binghamton goaltender Connor Winters made nine stops, posting a .473 save percentage.
Stony Brook will be back in action next weekend, traveling to James M. Shuart Stadium in Hempstead, N.Y. to take on the Hofstra Pride in the Battle of Long Island for its Coastal Athletic Association opener. The Pride are 4-2 in the season but are coming off a rough 18-7 defeat at the hands of No. 5/6 North Carolina. Opening face-off is set for Saturday night at 7 p.m.
