Yesterday afternoon, the Binghamton Bearcats left quite a first impression on the Virginia men's lacrosse team. While the Cavaliers emerged victorious from the first-ever meeting between the two schools with a 10-7 win, the Bearcats led for the majority of the game as both their offensive and defensive lines put Virginia to the test.
"We struggled, and I certainly want to give Binghamton credit for playing great," Virginia coach Dom Starsia said. "I blame myself a little bit. Binghamton may be a little better than I imagined and we might be a little overscheduled at this point -- this coming two days after Maryland and with North Carolina on the horizon."
Just 30 seconds into the game, freshman midfielder Brian Carroll cut to the goal and put Virginia (9-1, 1-0) on the board first; little did the Cavaliers know they would be held scoreless for the next 30 minutes.
"We didn't shoot well, but you also have to give that to the keeper," junior attacker Ben Rubeor said. "He came up with some great saves early, and that created some momentum for them. By the end of the game, though, we adjusted our shooting and were able to cash in on our opportunities."
While the Binghamton defense held Virginia at bay, the Bearcat offense pressured the Cavalier goal. Capitalizing on man-advantage opportunities and sneaking in behind Virginia's defense, Binghamton scored four unanswered goals and led 4-1 toward the close of the first half.
With just seven seconds to go until halftime, sophomore attacker Danny Glading ended the Cavaliers' dry spell with a fast-break goal that cut Binghamton's lead to two. Before the final buzzer, he scored twice more, leading the offense with three goals and one assist.
"I was happy to be able to do that on a day when we really needed someone to step up and put some goals in the back of the net," Glading said. "On offense, we needed to go back to the fundamentals. Once we started playing a little smarter and settling down, that's when we started getting the shots and finishing our chances."
According to Rubeor, Starsia kept his cool in the locker room at halftime but challenged his guys to come out in the second half and play better and with more intensity. After a first half marked by inaccurate shots and an uncharacteristic 15 turnovers, Virginia took the field once again with renewed energy.
Despite Binghamton scoring the first goal of the second half, the Cavaliers went on a three-goal run. Glading stepped up once again on the fast break and shortly thereafter junior Jack Riley scored on a pass from senior Drew Thompson. Rubeor, having been held scoreless for 40 minutes, finally notched the game tying goal for Virginia.
In the fourth quarter, Rubeor, Glading, junior Will Barrow, sophomore Garret Billings and sophomore Steve Giannone each found the back of the net once more. Nevertheless, scoring a total of seven goals on the Cavaliers, Binghamton never went away.
"There was pressure on the defense to make sure we could keep the game close at our end," senior goalkeeper Kip Turner said. "There is such a thing as defense winning the game, and I think that we can do that."
As the Cavaliers look ahead to their second ACC matchup against North Carolina Saturday, Rubeor said yesterday's game was a valuable experience.
"When you find yourself down late in the game, you just have to tough it out and find a way to win," Rubeor said. "I thought we did that and that's a positive that we can take away today."
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