Top-ranked Syracuse (10-1, 4-0 Atlantic Coast) will host Binghamton Saturday afternoon inside the Carrier Dome on Senior Day. In SU’s last game before the ACC tournament, the Orange will look to extend its win streak to nine games. Meanwhile, unranked Binghamton (9-3, 3-2 America East) looks to snap a two-game losing streak.

Here’s what you need to know about the Bearcats ahead of the Saturday matchup.

All-time series: Syracuse leads, 5-0

Last time they played: Syracuse started the game on a 10-0 run and never looked back, holding Binghamton scoreless for over 35 minutes. Binghamton strung together five of the next eight goals, including the last three in the game, but the damage had been done as SU rolled to a 13-5 victory.

Nick Mariano scored four goals and added an assist while Dylan Donahue and Sergio Salcido each added a pair of goals. Faceoff specialist Ben Williams finished 12-of-15 at the X and picked up a goal as well. Syracuse beat Binghamton in shots (42-30), shots on goal (27-12), turnovers (7-12) and ground balls (29-21).

The Binghamton Report: The Bearcats won eight straight en route to its first appearance in the Inside Lacrosse Top 20 since 2006. After winning only four games last year, Binghamton has turned its 2017 season around under first-year head coach Kevin McKeown.

Much of the success can be attributed to Tom Moore, a transfer from Jacksonville. The redshirt senior leads the team with 58 points — the next highest sits at 28. The Bearcats boast the No. 7 defense, limiting opponents to just 7.75 goals per game. They have allowed double-digit goals only twice all year.

“We’re playing help-style defense,” McKeown said, “where we want to be able to slide and rotate and communicate … We’ve given them a structure on D.”

Liam Sheehan | Staff Photographer

Freshman long-stick midfielders Zach Barrett and Dan Mottes have been a bright spot for Binghamton, starting every game this year. Barrett is tied with senior defender Garrett Waldron for caused turnovers (17).

Behind the defense stands goalie Tanner Cosens, whom McKeown considers his most improved player. The senior allows just 7.66 goals per game, which ranks sixth nationally. He also has a .533 save percentage which comes in at No. 23.

“He’s having an all-conference type year,” McKeown said. “Huge leader for our whole team, our defense.”

On offense, the team ranks just No. 38, pouring in slightly more than 10 goals per game. A lot of the offensive production comes from Moore, who averages just under three goals a game. Outside of Moore is Thomas McAndrew (16 goals), Joe Licata (15), Tyler DeLuca (13) and Griffin Konen (12).

At the faceoff X, Binghamton wins over half of its chances, 36th in the nation. Austin Macchi takes the majority of the faceoffs and has won 51.4 percent. Brendan Patterson has received one-third the looks Macchi has, but he has a measly 46.9 percent success rate at the X.

How Syracuse beats Binghamton: The Binghamton offense is not as dominant as many teams SU has played over the past few weeks. That doesn’t change the fact that the Bearcats boast one of the best players in the NCAA in Moore.

Senior defender Scott Firman will be tasked with shutting down Moore. If he can stop the redshirt senior the way he did to other top attackmen (Connor Fields and Ryder Garnsey, among others) Syracuse should not have a problem.

Liam Sheehan | Staff Photographer

Syracuse should use its balanced attack to break down the Bearcats defense. The team has five players in double figures and another two with nine goals this year. If SU can continue to limit its turnovers, the Orange should walk away with an easy win.

Numbers to know: 

0 — Binghamton has never defeated Syracuse in the teams’ five matchups

58 — Number of points Tom Moore has in 12 games. Syracuse’s leader, Nick Mariano, is at 42 through 11 games.

7.66 — Goals allowed by Binghamton’s Tanner Cosens per game, which ranks sixth in the country

56.3 — Percentage of man-up opportunities Syracuse converts on, tied for tops in the country

Player to watch: Tom Moore, attack, No. 10

The 6-foot-3, 190-pounder has thrived in his lone season at Binghamton. The dual-threat attack has yet to be held scoreless in a game. His fewest points scored in a single game? Two. Moore ranks 10th nationally in goals per game (2.83) and will be the biggest threat to snapping Syracuse’s win streak. Moore finished with a pair of goals in Binghamton’s loss to Albany.

Published on April 21, 2017 at 1:22 pm

Contact Charlie: csdistur@syr.edu | @charliedisturco