The men’s lacrosse team (3-1 overall) notched its third win in a row on Saturday, emerging victorious over Binghamton University (1-2 overall) by a score of 19-12 at Fisher Stadium.
Lafayette’s energy caught the Bearcats by surprise, as the Maroon and White took a 6-1 lead in the first quarter. Senior midfielder John Mathes notched two, while senior attack Kalman Kraham, senior attack Peter Lehman, senior midfielder Connor Freeman and senior attack Charlie Cunniffe each scored a goal.
“Against Binghamton, I think our team did a great job of coming ready to play,” senior defender Thomas McGee said. “With a midweek game against Drexel, it was important for us to stay focused throughout the entire week.”
In the second quarter, Lehman completed his hat trick to bring the score to 8-1. While the away team responded with a goal of its own, Mathes and Cunniffe scored two apiece for the halftime scoreboard to display 12-5 in favor of the Leopards.
“As a defense, and as a team as well, we are always focused on getting better as the season progresses,” McGee said. “We’ve been able to take some good strides so far, but continue to take it one day and practice at a time. I’ve been impressed with how a lot of younger players have been able to play alongside our group of veteran players.”
Cunniffe added another two goals in the third quarter, and senior midfielder Jacob Freeman scored as well. With five goals heading into the fourth quarter, Cunniffe went on to complete a double hat trick and match his single-game career high. Mathes, meanwhile, scored another two in the final period for his own double hat trick, setting a career high.
“I was able to score because of the opportunities my coaches and teammates put me in, and it is exciting knowing that any guy on our offense could score a lot of goals on any given day,” Cunniffe said.
Lafayette will start Patriot League play on Sunday. The Leopards will only face one more out-of-conference opponent this season, which will come on April 19 against Le Moyne College.
“The start of the season has been great to face some strong out-of-league opponents and learn and grow as a team before Patriot League play starts,” Cunniffe said.
Lafayette’s next game will be at home against Army (4-0 overall). Army is coming off a statement win against perennial lacrosse powerhouse Syracuse University.
The Black Knights shared last year’s regular season title with Boston University and went on to win the Patriot League tournament. This year, the program was selected as the 2024 preseason favorite in the Patriot League.
In the same poll, Lafayette was voted sixth out of nine teams. The Leopards were only one of five teams to get at least one first-place vote with one.
“We honestly haven’t focused on our opponent at all,” Cunniffe said. “We want to keep building on us and working on things we need to get better at. Army is a great program and we have a lot of respect for them and being the standard in the Patriot League, but we look forward for the opportunity to compete on Sunday and are grateful for another chance to play another team and get better.”
