LOWELL, Mass. – Graduate student Garrett Murphy (Billerica, Mass.) tallied a career-high five goals, as the UMass Lowell men's lacrosse team (3-4, 0-1 AE) dropped its conference opener against the Binghamton Bearcats (2-4, 1-0 AE), 14-12, on Friday afternoon.

"That was a really good lacrosse game," said Head Coach Drew Kelleher. "I'm really proud of our guys. We had a really good week of prep which gave us a chance. Credit to Binghamton they have a really nice team and Coach McKeown does a really nice job. I thought it was a hard fought battle and unfortunately we came up on the short end of the stick today."
 
Murphy, who added an assist for a personal-best six points, was one eight River Hawks with at least a point and one of six with a goal. Behind him, freshman Griffin Sumwalt (Aquebogue, N.Y.) added two goals and an assist, while sophomore Johnny Soi (Kerhonkson, N.Y.) chipped in two goals of his own. Freshmen Danny Burke (Eden Prairie, Minn.) and Alex Lafreniere (Chelmsford, Mass.) each tallied two points off a goal and an assist, while senior Riley Lawhorn (Amherst, N.H.) rounded out the goal scorers with one of his own. In net, freshman AJ True (Manchester, N.H.) made nine saves in the start.
 
Both teams opened the game focusing on the defensive end, as the two sides combined for only one shot in the first four minutes. However, with 11:00 on the clock, the Bearcats struck for the first goal of the game, and although the River Hawks continued to bring a strong defensive presence, the visitors struck again to double their lead. The hosts retaliated, as just under two minutes later Murphy found Soi open in front of the net, setting up the sophomore, who launched a shot into the back of the net to cut the deficit to one. With just over a minute remaining, the Bearcats struck again to make it 3-1 after one.
 
The UMass Lowell offense erupted in the second quarter with Murphy starting the action with a goal at the 12:20 mark. Despite a goal by Binghamton only a minute later, both sides played scoreless for over five minutes before Burke bolted from behind the net and snuck a shot just past the keeper. The hosts continued their offensive surge, scoring again at 5:04 to even the score, but two goals by the opposition made it 6-4 with under two minutes to play. With little time to work with, UMass Lowell made use of every second, as Lawhorn tallied his first goal of the day with 22 seconds remaining, before Murphy struck with six seconds to go, knotting the score up at 6-6 heading into the break.
 
Coming out of halftime, the River Hawks put pressure on the Bearcats' defense, registering the first shot of the period only a few minutes in, but the visitors were the first to strike, scoring back-to-back to retake the lead, 8-6, with nine minutes to go.  UMass Lowell countered instantly with Murphy's third of the day, and after a goal by Binghamton once again made it a two-goal buffer, Lafreniere and Murphy went to work, each ripping shots past the keeper to even the score at 9-9 with just under four to go. The Bearcats responded though, adding two of their own to make it 11-9 heading into the final quarter.
 
In the fourth, the River Hawks looked to make a comeback as Sumwalt added his second of the day only moments after a Bearcats goal. Binghamton added two more of their own to take a four-score lead, and although UMass Lowell was able to cut the deficit to two, there was not enough time to complete the comeback, sealing the 14-12 decision.
 
Next up, the River Hawks face a quick turnaround as they host the Massachusetts Minutemen on Tuesday, March 18. The opening faceoff is scheduled for 3 p.m. at Cushing Field.