Fueled by junior attacker Tom Haun’s performance, Stony Brook Men’s Lacrosse defeated the Binghamton Bearcats 13-6 on Friday, March 29. Haun accounted for over half of the team’s points, scoring a career-high six goals along with one assist.
Haun credits his team’s ability to work as a unit for the victory and his recent success.
“It’s all my teammates, you know,” Haun said. “[They have] great off-ball movement, are setting great picks for me and making great passes to me.”
Haun’s assist to senior long-stick midfielder Ryland Rees began the Seawolves’ onslaught of goals, as Rees was one of eight different Stony Brook players to score on the night. Just eight seconds later, senior long-stick midfielder Justin
Up 7-2 at halftime, head coach Jim Nagle would not let his team quit while they were ahead. “Keep hustling, next play, keep your head up,” Harrell said regarding Nagle’s message throughout the game.
His words seemed to ring true. After Binghamton struck first in the second half and reduced its deficit to four goals, the Seawolves went on two separate 3-0 runs. Junior attacker Connor Grippe and junior attacker Chris Pickel Jr., assisted by VanGinhoven, both contributed a goal each. Haun scored four, one of which was assisted by sophomore attacker Jack Walsh.
Nagle praised the team’s offensive output on Friday night.
“The fact that multiple guys got involved with scoring is not surprising as a result of [the team’s effort in practice],” Nagle said.
Nagle also commended the leadership of his older players. “We’re really getting great play from our upperclassmen. [Junior goalkeeper] Michael [Bollinger] has been fantastic the last four games and there’s been great defensive play from seniors Ryland Rees and Justin Pugal.”
Bollinger stopped nearly three in every four shots on goal and finished with 13 total saves, his fourth straight double digit performance, while Rees and Pugal spearheaded the Seawolves’ ceaseless defensive pressure. The team finished the game with six forced turnovers and never allowed Binghamton to become comfortable on offense.
“I rely on the defense to do what they got to do. I thought this week in practice, they really paid attention to what coach was saying … and they played really well overall,” Bollinger said about the defensive performance. “The turnovers were just awesome, and also the ground ball. They did their part.”
With its win, the men’s lacrosse team improves to a 2-1 record in conference play and 5-4 overall. They will look to build off their performance at St. John’s on April 2.
“There’s a lot of pressure on the league games,” Nagle said. “So Tuesday, a rivalry game … will be less pressure and more kids just playing lacrosse.”
The Seawolves will have two non-conference games before resuming America East play on April 13 at UMass Lowell.
