Faceoffs and ground balls were an issue as the Binghamton University Bearcats defeated the Hofstra men’s lacrosse team 12-6 at the James M. Shuart Stadium on Tuesday, March 8.
Hofstra entered the game looking to erase the memory of its loss to Villanova on Saturday.
Chase Patterson started for the Pride in the faceoff circle and won the opening draw. Hofstra was able to capitalize on the possession as Rory Jones netted his eighth goal of the season with 13:58 remaining in the first quarter. He assisted Gerard Kane a little over a minute later, giving the Pride a two-goal advantage.
Minutes later, after both teams traded possessions, Nicholas Imburgia broke the ice and put the Bearcats on the scoreboard. The Bearcats’ Kevin Winkoff tied the game a little while later by adding his eleventh goal of the season.
Binghamton captured its first lead of the night with 5:24 remaining in the quarter as Daniel MacKinney scored his fourth goal of the season. Justin Sykes answered minutes later with his eighth goal of the season off an assist from Dylan McIntosh.
After the end of the first quarter, the score was tied at three apiece.
Brian Herber took the opening faceoff in the second period and was called for a delay of game, resulting in a man-down situation for the Pride. Thomas Greenblat capitalized on the opportunity for Binghamton, giving the Bearcats a one-goal lead.
After Herber lost the following faceoff, he caused a turnover on Binghamton’s Drew Furlong resulting in McIntosh gaining possession and tying the game at four.
Herber won the following faceoff, but after a save from Binghamton goalie Teddy Dolan on a shot from Sykes, the Bearcats were able to net a transition goal from Max Napoli to give themselves a one-goal lead once again, 5-4.
Both teams had possessions during the remainder of the second quarter until Hofstra’s Matt Elder tied the game at five with his seventh goal of the season. However, a little over a minute later, Binghamton regained the lead with a goal from Matthew Keegan.
In the first half, the Pride won two faceoffs whereas the Bearcats won 13. Binghamton had the upper hand in ground balls with 15, while the Pride had 11.
The second half was all Binghamton as the Bearcats scored six unanswered goals over the span of 14 minutes, with tallies coming from Keegan, Quinn O’ Hara, Winkoff, Justin Roderka, Andrew Arce and Greenblatt.
The Pride was able to gain a goal when McIntosh netted his second of the day, but it wasn’t enough. In eight face-off attempts, the Bearcats won seven. Binghamton was able to scoop 14 ground balls while Hofstra scooped six.
The Pride wasn’t able to possess the ball much in the third quarter as they were outshot 13-6 with two of those being on goal.
Defensively, Hofstra was able to pull together as they didn’t allow any goals throughout the final 15 minutes of play, as Mac Gates recorded five saves while in goal for the Pride. Yet, they were also held scoreless.
“That was a rough one,” said Hofstra head coach Seth Tierney. “Tonight was rough, no excuses. We got beat tonight.”
Dylan McIntosh led the Pride in points with three, coming from two goals and one assist. Jones and Rudd each had two points. Rudd, Herber, Gates and Bryan McIntosh led Hofstra in ground balls, scooping three. Tim Hegarty was able to force two turnovers on defense. Gates had 10 saves in the loss.
In the faceoff circle for Hofstra, Herber went 2-8, Patterson went 1-12 and Ben Niesman went 0-3.
“We had no answers at the faceoff-X,” Tierney said. “We faced off all three guys. [Matthew DeSouza] had our number. Brian Herber and Chase Patterson are hardworking, very good faceoff guys, and they’re in a tough spot right now.”.
The Pride looks ahead to Saturday, March 12, when they will host the Manhattan College Jaspers at the James M. Shuart Stadium. Face-off is scheduled for 1 p.m.
Photo Courtesy of Hofstra Athletics
