Defense Wins in Maryland, Jacksonville Men Defeat Binghamton in Season Opener
SPARKS GLENCOE, Md. — A defensive battle ended with a win for the Jacksonville University men’s lacrosse program, defeating Binghamton 9-8 at Tierney Field at the US Lacrosse Facility. Ryan Della Rocco was an anchor in the net for the Dolphins, making 18 saves in the game.
The Numbers
Offensively, Jack Taylor led the way, leading the team with three points by scoring two goals with one assist. Ethan LaMond added two goals to the cause, finding the back of the net in the first and fourth quarters.
Dalton Hubbs led the team in ground balls, grabbing five in the game, followed by Drew Rippeon, who finished with four.
Preseason All-America selection Tucker Garrity scored his first goal of the season, while Jacob Greiner, Nicky Brown and Daniel May each added goals for the Dolphins. May’s day featured an assist, helping Greiner find the net at the 7:08 mark of the first quarter.
How It Happened
Binghamton struck first 35 seconds in before JU rallied back with three straight scores, scoring once at 9:30 before adding another with 9:14 left in the first quarter. Binghamton added another with two minutes left in the opening quarter, making it 3-2. JU answered with two more, once at the 12:53 mark by Garrity and again with May scoring while JU had a man-up advantage. Two straight Binghamton goals followed, cutting the lead to one, making it a 5-4 game heading into the halftime break.
BU scored their third straight goal early in the third, tying the game at five. LaMond scored the second of two straight with 13:57 on the clock, giving the Dolphins a 7-5 lead. Jacksonville would hold on for the remaining 13:57 in the game, earning their season-opening victory.
Head Coach John Galloway
On Binghamton
“Today was a heck of an effort from two teams who I believe will be in the fight at the end of the regular season. I have so much respect for Binghamton and their staff. Their goalie was one of the best I have seen while coaching at JU. I knew it would be a four-quarter battle, and I thought our guys accepted the challenge for 60 minutes.”
Team Performance
“I want to commend some guys who stepped into roles for the first time and made a huge impact. Drew Rippeon and Calvin Taulbee were key contributors as rookies. They weren’t slated to play that many minutes, and they answered the challenge. Ultimately though, I thought Ryan Della Rocco and Tucker Garrity made the impact plays we needed to get us over the hump. We needed our best guys to be at their best, and I thought they were.
I am proud of this group. We have so much growth in front of us, but we took care of what we could control. Now we shift our focus to simply winning on Monday!”
