March 10, 2009

Box Score

BINGHAMTON, N.Y. - The St. Bonaventure lacrosse team scored the last three goals of the game to turn in a gutsy 11-10 comeback win over Binghamton on Tuesday afternoon in Binghamton, N.Y.

The victory is the Brown and White's second straight as they improve to 2-2 on the young season. Binghamton, who is led by former St. Bonaventure head coach Tony Zostant, falls to 1-3 with the loss.

Leading the way for the Brown and White offensively was junior Molly Hastrich who continued her strong play as of late, tallying her fourth-straight game with at least four points, scoring four goals in the victory. Freshman Danielle Drabin had a fine game for the Bonnies as well, collecting three goals on just five shots.

Getting the start in net for the Brown and White was junior Tori Waheibi. Waheibi played all 60 minutes, allowing all 10 goals while making seven saves to pick up the win.

The game featured eight ties and no team built up a lead of greater than two goals the entire contest. Just to verify how close the game actually was, both teams' statistics virtually mirrored each other. The Bonnies outshot the Bearcats 32-31 for the game, including a 24-17 edge in shots on goal. Binghamton held the edge in ground balls 19-12 and also converted three free-position shots to the Brown and White's two.

The difference in the game was clearly Hastrich, who fired eight shots on goal for the game. The Horseheads, N.Y. native, got St. Bonaventure on the board first, scoring just 25 seconds into the game to give the Bonnies a 1-0 lead. The game would remain close for the remainder of the half that featured five ties and four lead changes. Sophomore Beth Moore would score her second goal of the game just before half to give the Bearcats a 6-5 lead going into intermission.

The home team looked poised to pull away for the win towards the middle of the second half, as Binghamton rattled off four straight goals to give it a 10-8 lead with just 8:16 left in the game. St. Bonaventure would not let itself become rattled; instead it received some veteran leadership to re-take the lead. After a Drabin goal made the score 10-9, Hastrich would step up to score two clutch goals, within a minute of each other, to put the Brown and White up 11-10 with just 4:38 remaining.

Sophomore Jill Remick anchored the Bonnies defense on the afternoon, tallying five groundballs and three caused turnovers to preserve the win.

Leading the way for Binghamton was sophomore Ali Castigile who had six points in the game on three goals and three assists.

Sophomore Lauren Scott got the start in net for Binghamton and played the entire 60 minutes making 13 saves while taking the loss.

The Brown and White will be back in action on Tuesday, March 17, as they welcome MAAC rival Canisius to McGraw-Jennings Field for their regular season home opener. Game time is scheduled for 4:00 p.m. as the Brown and White look to extend their winning streak to three in a row.