Raleigh Enjoys 'Breakout Game' for Binghamton
from press release
BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The Binghamton men's lacrosse
team scored its first triumph of the 2011 campaign in 11-7 fashion
over the host Canisius Golden Griffins (0-3) at the Demske Sports
Complex Saturday afternoon. Six different Bearcats registered a
goal while four different players notched an assist to pace BU's
highest-scoring contest of the season.
BU's two captains on the offensive side combined for six of the
squad's 11 goals. In a breakout performance, senior David Raleigh
rattled off a game-high four goals. Fellow captain Frank Donlon
scored a pair of goals, each of which directly followed a score
from Raleigh.
"I thought we had some really good leadership out there today,"
head coach Ed Stephenson said. "David [Raleigh] had a breakout game
for us and every time the game got close, he put his mark on the
game. Overall, it was a great effort from our team."
Sophomore attackman Matt Springer was the third Bearcat to post a
multi-goal performance as he scored twice and assisted on Donlon's
second goal of the game to open the fourth quarter. With three
points on the day, Springer extended his consecutive game scoring
streak to 18 straight with a point, dating back to Feb. 20, 2010.
His streak warrants national recognition as he ranks among the
top-20 national leaders for consecutive games with a point.
In the opening quarter, Binghamton raced out to a 3-0 advantage
over the first eight minutes. Newcomer Brandon Planck converted a
man-up opportunity at the 13:35 mark as he tallied an unassisted
goal. The freshman attackman picked up where he left off against
No. 6 Cornell earlier in the week as he posted the team's final two
goals Tuesday. Five minutes later, Raleigh found the back of the
net for an unassisted goal. Donlon capped the opening surge with a
goal at the 6:53 mark, off the assist from junior John Clark.
The host Golden Griffins answered with two consecutive goals and
clamped down defensively as they shutout BU for a span of 22
minutes to close the second quarter at 3-2.
Despite the defensive battle in the opening 30 minutes, Binghamton
exploded for eight second half goals as they pulled away from a
pesky Canisius squad.
Raleigh and Springer each posted goals by the 10:38 mark of the
third quarter. Junior Ben Waldron assisted on the score from
Raleigh, while sophomore Tyler Perrelle notched one of his
team-high two assists on the goal by Springer.
Simon Giourmetakis and Graham Bergsma fueled a two-goal spurt for
Canisius as the host squad pulled within 5-4 at the 3:44 mark. With
eight seconds left, Raleigh provided a vital spark for the Bearcats
as he registered his fourth goal of the game and lifted BU to a 6-4
edge heading into the final frame.
The Bearcats controlled all eight face-offs in the fourth quarter
to dominate the possession battle and rack up five goals as they
outscored Canisius 5-3 to secure the victory. Donlon scored BU's
second man-up goal of the game 22 seconds into the quarter on the
assist from Springer. Following a goal from Giourmetakis, Raleigh
and Springer each scored in a span of 47 seconds as the Bearcats
extended the lead to 9-5, its largest advantage of the contest with
12 minutes remaining. Canisius threatened with two unanswered goals
as they trailed 9-7, but Binghamton secured the win with
back-to-back goals in a span of 26 seconds with under three minutes
to play. Freshman Kelly Donigan recorded his first career goal with
2:40 to play and sophomore Tyler Perrelle followed with an
unassisted goal of his own to account for the 11-7 final.
In cage, sophomore Kraig Heston picked up the win on the strength
of seven saves and only seven goals against.
Binghamton returns to the Bearcats Sports Complex for a showdown
with Hobart on Tuesday at 4 p.m.
