UMBC turns the tables with overtime victory in rematch
Retrievers bounce back after suffering first loss of season days earlier
By Edward Lee
The men’s lacrosse rematch between UMBC and Binghamton lived up to its billing.
Like Wednesday’s game in New York that resulted in the Bearcats pulling away for an overtime win, Saturday’s contest at UMBC Stadium in Catonsville was a back-and-forth affair with six lead changes, five ties and only one two-goal advantage. Unlike Wednesday’s game, however, it was the Retrievers who emerged victorious in regulation with a 7-6 decision.
The outcome allowed UMBC (4-1, 3-1 America East) to avenge its first setback of the season. Afterward, players didn’t seem to mind that they had to clash with an opponent they had seen four days earlier.
“It helped a little bit because we knew what we were going to face,” said sophomore midfielder Dane Hall, a Harwood resident. “And it gave us a little fire knowing that we just lost to them four days ago and that we had the opportunity to play them again. It was a quick turnaround, and not many teams get to do that. So we just had a little extra today because we knew we had to make up for what we left on the field on Wednesday.”
Added freshman long-stick midfielder Ethan Robinson, a Randallstown resident and McDonogh graduate: “We kind of got upset a little bit in that game. Our guys didn’t take that too well. We weren’t too happy with that. So we knew we had to come back and get at them.”
On Wednesday, the conference rivals were tied after the first quarter at 2-2, Binghamton had a 3-2 lead at halftime and a 7-6 edge after the third quarter, and the score was tied at 7-7 at the end of regulation. On Saturday, they were even through the first three quarters, deadlocked at 2 at the end of the first, 4-4 at halftime, and 5-5 at the end of the third.
When sophomore midfielder Quinn O’Hara used a screen up top to break free and fire home a shot from the right point, Binghamton took a 6-5 lead with 11:42 left in the fourth quarter and seemed to have momentum.
But after Retrievers senior long-stick midfielder Nick Doyle forced a turnover and collected the ground ball, senior goalkeeper Tommy Lingner sent an outlet pass to Hall, who sprinted from the midfield to the right alley and buried his shot in the bottom right corner of the net to knot the score at 6 with 9:37 remaining.
After a caused turnover by sophomore defenseman Ricky Fedorchak, senior attackman Ryan Frawley passed the ball back from the right wing to Brandon Galloway, and the junior midfielder laced his shot from the right point to give UMBC a 7-6 lead — its first since 3-2 with 11:25 left in the second quarter.
After tying a career high with 18 saves Wednesday, Bearcats redshirt sophomore goalie Teddy Dolan made 17 stops Saturday. Hall, who joined Galloway in scoring two goals, said the offensive players were not abiding by a scouting report recommending they shoot high on Dolan.
“At first, we were missing our spots,” Hall said. “We were giving him some shots that we wished we had back. So once the fourth quarter came around, we started shooting them low. We figured out that’s where we could beat him, and we started hitting our spots finally.”
The offense, which got one goal and two assists from sophomore attackman Nick Dupuis, had a chance courtesy of a stingy defense that shut out Binghamton over the final 11:42. The Bearcats’ last six possessions ended in three turnovers, two saves by Lingner and one blocked shot.
“We talked all week about getting under high-wing picks and showing a little bit to help and keeping these guys down the alleys,” said Robinson, who finished with two ground balls, one caused turnover and one goal with 13:21 left in the first quarter. “So we did that, and that’s how we got that long stretch with no goals.”
Retrievers coach Ryan Moran noted that the team cleared the ball 20 of 21 times, including 11-for-11 in the second half.
“We had one failed clear the whole game, and I know the one that it is, and it shouldn’t have been missed,” he said. “It’s one thing to get those stops, but it’s another thing to make sure that you’re getting the ball up and out, and I thought we did that really well the whole game.”
Junior attackman Daniel Mackinney, who scored the winning goal with 0.7 seconds left in overtime on Wednesday, scored twice for Binghamton (2-2, 1-2), and sophomore midfielder Thomas Greenblatt had one goal and one assist. But coach Kevin McKeown said the offense didn’t possess the ball enough in the fourth quarter to create high-quality chances.
“I think there were two failed clears in that fourth quarter where we had to go back and play a second possession in a row of defense,” he said. “That didn’t give our offense the opportunity to get a good possession. I just don’t think we caught our rhythm there. We’ve seen it at times, but I don’t think we’ve had it for a full game yet.”