VESTAL, N.Y. – Sophomore Alex Lafreniere (Chelmsford, Mass.) scored three goals, as the UMass Lowell men's lacrosse team (2-4, 0-1 AE) fell to the Binghamton Bearcats (2-5, 1-0 AE), 16-9, in Saturday's America East conference play opener.

Lafreniere, who now has three hat tricks on the season, was one of eight River Hawks to record a point in the contest. Sophomore Danny Burke (Eden Prairie, Minn.) also tallied three points off two goals and an assist, while junior Nolan Marshall (Oakville, Ontario) and freshman Ryan Proctor (Uxbridge, Ontario) both contributed a goal and an assist. Rounding things out, juniors Mitch Lanthaler (Mars, Penn.) and Colby Frigon (Providence, R.I.) each added a goal, while redshirt sophomore James Donnelly (Ottawa, Ontario) and sophomore Ryan Cho (Acton, Mass.) added assists.

It didn't take long for the River Hawks to score, as Burke found Proctor just over two minutes in, setting up the freshman who launched a rocket past the keeper, giving his squad a 1-0 lead. Only minutes later, UMass Lowell struck again, this time off the stick of Marshall in a man-up situation, to double the lead. Binghamton answered with a goal of their own at 5:05, but Burke responded instantly, scoring at 4:01 to regain the two-goal advantage. However, a goal in the final minutes by the hosts made it a 3-2 game through the first quarter.

Looking to even the score, the Bearcats took advantage of their first possession in the second, scoring to make it a 3-3 game. It didn't take long for the River Hawks to respond, though, as Lafreniere found the back of the net less than a minute after to retake the lead. Despite Binghamton tying the game again, UMass Lowell locked down defensively, not allowing another goal for nearly five minutes, while Burke tallied his second score of the game to put his team on top 5-4. The hosts, however, ended the quarter with three straight to take a 7-5 lead into the break.

Coming out of halftime, the visitors started strong defensively, keeping the opposition scoreless for nearly five minutes. With just over ten minutes on the clock, Binghamton finally broke past the strong UMass Lowell defense, kickstarting a three-goal run before Frigon scored from deep, to cut the deficit to 10-6 with 2:21 to go. Binghamton added two more, including one with three seconds to play, but after a faceoff violation, Marshall threw the ball deep down the field, which Lafreniere got a stick on before immediately ripping a shot to cut the deficit to 12-7 as time expired.

In the fourth, the River Hawks started strong, scoring two of the first three goals off the sticks of Lafreniere and Lanthaler, but the Bearcats added three more, sealing the 16-7 final score.

Next up, the River Hawks make the quick trip to Providence, Rhode Island, for a midweek clash against Brown on Tuesday, March 17. Opening faceoff is scheduled for 4 p.m. at Stenson-Pincince Field.