LOWELL, Mass.—The UMass Lowell men's lacrosse team closed out its season at home Sunday night, falling 11-9 in a down-to-the-wire battle with Binghamton at Cushing Field. The River Hawks end the season with a 1-8 (1-7 America East) mark.
 
"I think both teams left everything they had on the field. It was the last game for our seniors and their seniors, and it showed in the energy and the intensity throughout the night," said Head Coach Ed Stephenson. "It was a very physical game. It was a hard-fought game. I'm super pleased with our efforts for 60 minutes."
 
Prior to the faceoff, seniors Domenic Giachello (Somers, Conn.), Kyle Laforge (Tyngsboro, Mass.), Jake Lining (Rochester, Mich.), Hunter Braun (Hartland, Mich.), Harry Morrill (Hyde Park, Mass.), and Mike Pigeon (Canton, Mass.), as well as graduate students Cameron Richard (Derry, N.H.), Brett Dattilo (Derry, N.H.) and Dylan Rhatigan (Holbrook, N.Y.) were honored in a special Senior Night ceremony.
 
"Our seniors have done so much for this program coming in. I'm so grateful to them for everything they've done for us. They're all going to have just tremendous futures in whatever endeavors they get into," said Stephenson. "They're a very talented group. They're going to have a tremendous amount of success. I'm so pleased with their leadership this year."
 
Rhatigan and sophomore Conor Foley (Walpole, Mass.) led the River Hawks offensive efforts this afternoon, registering a hat trick each in the regular season finale. Additionally, Foley tallied an assist to lead the River Hawks in points with four to match his season high set in the team's opener against Merrimack. At X, junior Liam McDonough (Groton, Mass.) finished the night with a team-high nine ground balls.
 
Rhatigan was quick to strike for the River Hawks, grabbing the feed from Giachello to get UMass Lowell on the board just two minutes in. A retaliation goal from the Bearcats to tie things up sparked a three-goal run by the visitors, giving them the 3-1 lead with just under eight minutes left in the first frame.
 
Foley briefly halted Binghamton's momentum with an unassisted goal at the 7:35 mark, but the Bearcats bounced back with one of their own to keep their two-goal margin.
 
Finding the back of the net once more, Rhatigan knocked one in with a quick stick on the doorstep off the pass from Lining to bring the River Hawks within one of the Bearcats. Another pair of goals from Binghamton stretched their lead to 6-3, before Lining closed out the first with his first of the night from freshman Jake Davis (Franklin, Mass.).
 
The River Hawks dominated the second quarter, putting up three unanswered goals to take back the lead. A man-up opportunity to start the second gave room to junior Sean Parker (Flemington, N.J.), who fired in a long range shot off the behind-the-net pass from Davis just 27 seconds in. Strong defense kept Binghamton out of the net for the entire period, with freshman Anthony Mancino (Holbrook, N.Y.) making four saves in the cage.
 
With just 2:05 in the first half, Rhatigan completed his senior night hat trick off another connection from Lining. Foley followed up with another unassisted tally as the seconds winded down to reclaim the lead, sending the River Hawks to the half up 7-6 over the Bearcats.
 
After a nearly 23-minute scoring drought, Binghamton got back on the scoreboard to tie things up at 7-7 with 11:23 left to go in the third. After a scrum in front of the Binghamton goal gave UMass Lowell another extra-man opportunity, Parker struck once more to pick up his second goal of the night from Giachello and push the River Hawks back into the lead.
 
Battling back, the Bearcats brought the teams back into a deadlock at 8-8 before taking back the lead off a two-goal run to cap off the third.
 
Hoping to level the score once again, the River Hawks put three shots on net to the Bearcats one across the first eight minutes of the final 15. A lucky break with 6:55 left in the contest sparked Binghamton's offense, opening up a two-goal run to move to 11-8 as minutes ticked down. Despite a late goal from Foley to cap off his career-first hat trick, the River Hawks comeback efforts were not enough as they fell 11-9 at Cushing Field to end the regular season.
 
On defense, Mancino played his first complete game between the pipes for the River Hawks, registering a career-high 14 saves in his second collegiate start. In his final outing for UMass Lowell, Morrill helped commandeer the defense, collecting three ground balls and forcing two turnovers.
 
"Tonight, to be able to play sixty minutes and give everything they had, it was a good step forward into next year," commented Stephenson.